Senator Arlen Specter on Cancer, George W. Bush, and Colonics

Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pennsylvania) stopped by and told the crew about staying on the job while undergoing chemotherapy: “I started getting more mail about my hairstyle than about public policy…people wrote me to tell me to shave my head and become a sex symbol.”

Robin asked how he kept his mind of the job, so Sen. Spector joked that his verbose colleagues are more difficult to manage than cancer: “Sometimes your fellow Senators are more distracting.” Sen. Spector said he’d met with some of the world’s biggest monsters, including Saddam Hussein and Hugo Chavez (Howard cut in: “And me!”), which has earned him some respect in Washington – but he’s never felt obligated to vote along party lines: “I vote for America.”

Howard asked if President Bush should be tried for war crimes, but Sen. Spector denied it: “You can blame the analysts who were wrong…I do not believe the President and Vice President maliciously or deliberately led us down the wrong path.”

Bush, Gays, and Colonics

Howard asked Sen. Spector about a series of topics: Will Bush be remembered as a bad president? “It is too soon to tell.” Gay marriage? “I believe gays should have all the rights…but the act of marriage I have to reserve.” How much fundraising should campaigns be limited to? “A few million dollars would be sufficient.” Where do you stand on enemas and colonics? “On those items, I wouldn’t be standing.”