Does One Senator Make a Political Trend?

On his hundredth day, President Obama thanked Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter for switching parties. Will Specter be a better Democrat than he was a Republican? Has the GOP gone so far right that it can't appeal to the centrists and independents who decide most elections? Also, vaccines and variations in the Swine Flu outbreak, and the eight-nation Arctic Council is meeting in Norway with the US calling for "win-win approaches" to the consequences of rapid ice-melting.

Banner image: Senator Arlen Specter (D-PA) speaks (C) during a press conference welcoming him to the Democratic Party as speaks as President Barack Obama (L) and Vice President Joe Biden listen at the White House. Photo: Ron Sachs-Pool/Getty Images