"Eight weeks ago ... he was opposed to a public option, but now if he says he's for it then I take him at his word," [Joe Sestak] said. Still, he added, [ARLEN SPECTER] had opposed President Bill Clinton's efforts to overhaul the health system in 1994. Sestak suggested that if Specter had backed Clinton's plan, he could have helped prevent 10 million Americans from losing their insurance in the years since. Being a leader, Sestak contended, means not just leading at a time of crisis, but taking action to "prevent crisis."

Specter has worked hard to endear himself to Democratic voters. At the Netroots town-hall meeting, Specter was asked what he'd done that would convince progressives to support him. "I'm out there fighting for health care," Specter answered. "No one else in the Democratic caucus is out there with four meetings."

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