Specters doublespeak does nothing to help

One of the things that always hurts the reputation of politicians as a whole is when they try to tell you that black is white when, quite clearly, all you see is black.
It's these blatant attempts to spin the truth that frustrates voters and damages any possible trust that may remain between the public and politicians.
A similar case of this came up earlier this week when Arlen Specter, a 29-year Republican senator from Pennsylvania announced he was switching horses to become a Democrat.
Sure, party switching is nothing new to politics and it will always be there. But it's the reasons for party-jumping that often muddy the waters.
When he announced Tuesday he was jumping ship, Specter told the media that he was doing it as a matter of principle. He claimed he was finding himself "increasingly at odds with the Republican philosophy and more in line with the philosophy of the Democratic party."
However, in the same press conference, Specter admitted that he would have a hard time winning the Republican party's primary next year to be its candidate in the Pennsylvania senatorial election.
Then Specter added: "I am not prepared to have my 29-year record in the United States Senate decided by the Pennsylvania Republican primary electorate."
So, hold it a second. He admits that he probably would've been ousted by his old party in the primary and he didn't want to lose there but that's not why he's leaving. He's leaving because of his principles?
Only if principle No. 1 is that of self-preservation.
This is exactly what I'm talking about. Specter has said enough to show that a desire to hold onto his seat was a major concern but then he contradicts all of that by saying he's really just doing it because of his principles.
It's obvious to anybody what his real reasons are and he is very up front about it. But it's like, at the last second, he thought, 'Well, that sounds callous, so I'll throw out the principle line. Yeah, that's sounds better."
By admitting his concerns about losing in the primary, he made it clear principle wasn't the real, or at least sole, reason for his switch.
It's this fear of being too honest because some politicians feel the truth isn't sugar-coated that hurts many politicos and the profession as a whole.
He could've been more honest and while it would've sounded callous, at least people could respect the honesty, something that doesn't happen too often lately.

Jason Small can be reached at 691-1255.