Rendell on Specter: "He Has Delivered"
Two Democrats are facing off in a critical primary contest in Pennsylvania today, and Gov. Ed Rendell said on Washington Unplugged that Sen. Arlen Specter deserves to knock out his primary challenger, Rep. Joe Sestak.
"He's one of the most impactful, probably the most impactful, senator in the state's history," Rendell told CBS News Senior White House Correspondent Bill Plante. "Why would we lose him?"
In the wake of Sestak's devastating campaign ad "The Switch," which portrayed Specter as switching parties only so he could "get re-elected," Rendell commended Specter for leaving the Republican Party. "His switch in parties was a courageous switch because he knew when he voted for the stimulus plan that he was signing his death warrant as a Republican," he said.
Rendell may be campaigning for Specter, but where have President Obama and Vice President Biden been? Do they see Specter's chances as a lost cause? When asked by Plante, Rendell said, "What about that TV ad, Bill? It's playing over 25 times a day where Barack Obama ends up by saying, 'I love Arlen Specter.'"
Plante quipped, "George Bush said the same thing."
Rendell also challenged the significance of the Tea Party movement, claiming it's more hype than hope. "Scott Brown didn't win because of the Tea Party, Scott Brown won because of the economy and because he was a great candidate and because our candidate [Martha Coakley] didn't perform well," Rendell said, referring to the special Senate election in Massachusetts that took place earlier this year.
Rendell said that reports of the turnout at Tea Party rallies are overblown and added, "Bill I promise you, if we called a rally for stronger laws to protect puppies in Washington, I'd get 100,000 people in Washington."
Watch Tuesday's Washington Unplugged in the video above, also featuring Kentucky GOP Senate candidate Dr. Rand Paul and a primary roundtable with CBS News' Anthony Salvanto and CBSNews.com's Brian Montopoli.
More on the Tuesday primaries:
Primaries: What to Watch in Pa., Ark. and Ky.
Senate Primaries to Test Clout of Party Leaders
Parties Test Election Themes in Penn. House Race
The Key Race to Watch this Tuesday
Katie Couric on the Penn. Primary
Incumbents Fight for Their Political Lives
"Washington Unplugged," CBSNews.com's exclusive daily politics Webshow, appears live on CBSNews.com each weekday at 12:30 p.m. ET. Click here to check out previous episodes.