With all recent polls now showing Congressman Joe Sestak grabbing a small lead over Senator Arlen Specter in the Democratic Senate primary election in Pennsylvania set for May 18, a desperate Specter has decided to play his trump card- a TV ad with a testimonial to his greatness by President Obama, crediting Specter for helping pass health care reform after his party switch (the 60th vote), and the stimulus package (while still ostensibly a Republican)  .

It is of interest that President Obama has no plans to come into the state before next Tuesday to campaign for Specter. Given the recent track record of Obama campaign appearances (defeats for the Democrats in Governors races in New Jersey and Virginia and a loss of a Senate seat in Massachusetts), it may be that Obama prefers not to enter November with an 0 for 4 streak.

Republicans, on the other hand, may want to root for Specter to pull it out against Sestak. Paired against the GOP nominee for the Senate seat, Pat Toomey, Specter trails Toomey by 12 points, while Sestak is only 2 points behind Toomey. It may be that Specter ran from the GOP to avoid a primary defeat, only to get his head handed to him in a Democratic primary.

In reality, Specter has always been loyal only to the Party of Specter. Charlie Crist has now made clear that he operates under the Specter "principles" in Florida. Voters can tell when raw ambition, and narcissism ( a sense of colossal self-importance), trumps any governing philosophy.

Arlen Specter is just not that important. .