A politician who recognizes reality -- how unusual

[jducoeur]

The big news of the hour is that Arlen Spector has declared that he is switching parties. Which on the one hand is remarkable, and on the other is just plain smart -- he's always been something of a centrist, and his chances of survival look higher as a Democrat than as a Republican. It'll be interesting to see if anything changes meaningfully as a result: I suspect he'll be as much of a pain in the Democrats' butt as he's been to the Republicans...