Glenn Thrush
Politico.com
January 21, 2010
The deeply odd couple of Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Penn.) and Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) appeared together on a Philly radio station yesterday — and things got ugly in short order.
The exchange, broadcast on 1210 AM’s Dom Giordano Show [but not archived on the station’s site], began when Specter challenged Bachmann to articulate what, exactly, she stands for, according to a readout on the clash published by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s lively Early Returns blog.
Bachmann first laid out her agenda — cutting taxes and killing President Obama’s health reform bill — at considerable length.
When Specter tried to counter, Bachmann, darling of the Tea Party movement, kept on talking, which didn’t sit well with the one-time Philadelphia DA, who is a stickler for politeness and protocol.
“I’m going to treat you like a lady,” Mr. Specter shot back. “Now act like one.”
Ms. Bachmann replied, “I am a lady.”
Things went on along this line for a while — with Specter later asking Bachmann to “act like a lady,” according to the PPG’s Daniel Malloy.
Bachmann is hardly a beloved figure in Democratic circles. But how many liberal women, whom Specter badly needs to defeat front-running Pat Toomey, would appreciate being told to “act like a lady” by a male debate partner?
