Specter Would Rather Not Comment On Sestak

When asked today what he thought of Rep. Joe Sestak’s (D-Pa.) campaign to replace him in the Senate, Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) didn’t have much to say.

“I’m late for the squash court so I’m gonna defer that to when I can answer in one spot.” When pressed on the matter, Specter paused before replying, “Ah, I’m late for the squash court.”

Specter was in Philadelphia this afternoon to greet President Barack Obama, who will appear at two fundraising events for Sestak this evening. Sestak, who faces conservative Republican Pat Toomey in November, is one of only a handful of Democratic candidates who are embracing Obama this campaign season.

A new poll out today shows Sestak trailing Toomey by a nearly double digit margin.

The White House endorsed Specter over Sestak in the primary, but insiders say the relationship between Obama and the Senate hopeful is now strong. Earlier this summer, Sestak famously alleged that the administration offered him a job to keep him from running against the 80-year-old Specter…

Van Hollen Blasts Boehner’s Economic Plan

A top Democrat in the House released a statement today assailing House Minority Leader John Boehner’s (R-Ohio) proposal to fix the economy.

“One of the key pieces of the Washington Republican agenda is repealing the remaining funds of the Recovery Act. This plan will terminate over 60,000 contracts and awards and extinguish more than $200 billion in economic activity at a critical moment. The result will be to put the brakes on the fragile recovery, kill thousands of new jobs, and create massive new uncertainty when the economy needs stability,” said Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.).

“Repealing this funding – which has created millions of jobs and brought our economy back from the brink of collapse – would mean taking contracts and grants back from small businesses and other entities that will use it to create jobs, rebuild our infrastructure, and provide necessary services. It will also put on the chopping block millions of dollars to support injured veterans,” Van Hollen added.

White House Denies New York Times Report

A story published late Sunday night on the New York Times’ website about the Obama administration’s plans to unleash an ad assault on the GOP this fall is “100% inaccurate,” according to a White House official.

“The Times is just flat-out, 100 percent wrong,” the official said. “The first time Obama’s advisers heard about a national ad campaign is when the story showed up on the Times’ website last night.”

Analysts Conclude Recession Ended In June

The New York Times reports today that a government research body has determined that the economic recession, which began in 2007, officially ended in June. The 18-month-long recession was the nation’s longest since World War II…

Report: Obama Aides Pondering Tea Party Attack

White House advisers are flirting with a campaign aimed at linking the tea party movement with the Republican establishment, according to a story Monday in the New York Times.

The campaign would reportedly seek to capitalize on concerns that the handful of tea party candidates who have won their party’s primaries are out of step with mainstream voters.

The White House has denied giving such a move consideration. Politico reports that an administration official decried the piece as “100 percent inaccurate.”

The Times story comes the week after controversial tea party favorite Christine O’Donnell beat moderate Mike Castle in Delaware’s Republican primary. The unlikely win was widely trumpeted as the death knell for a Republican comeback in the Senate.