I love Joe Biden. Arlen & Biden are now once again on the same train. All Aboard!
If and when courts in Minnesota ever declare the contested Senate race between Democrat Al Franken and Republican Norm Coleman to be inextricably over — Mr. Franken was ahead in the latest recount — the Democrats could have the filibuster-proof 60-vote Senate majority they’ve been craving. That could profoundly change the political math for the next two years.
If that happens, Republicans will only have Amtrak to blame.
Mr. Specter and Vice President Joe Biden often ride the same train home on weekends, and the vice president has been lobbying Mr. Specter relentlessly. Nobody does relentless more relentlessly than Joe Biden.
Some say Biden has been trying to convince Specter for five years.
"The party's left you," Biden would tell Specter, according to a source close to the vice president. "You're a fish out of water."
From Greg Sargent's blog:
Looks like the White House involvement in Arlen Specter’s decision to switch parties was much deeper than we thought: A White House aide confirms to me that Joe Biden had a total of six in-person meetings and at least eight phone calls with Specter since the stimulus package passed early this year.
ALL ABOARD!!