In U.S. Senate primary, Sestak ties Specter to President Bush

    Riding the momentum of improved poll numbers, Pennsylvania Congressman Joe Sestak is making his final pitch to Democratic voters in the days before the May 18th U.S. Senate primary.

    Riding the momentum of improved poll numbers, Pennsylvania Congressman Joe Sestak is making his final pitch to Democratic voters in the days before the May 18th U.S. Senate primary.

    In an April Quinnipiac University poll, Senator Arlen Specter had a 20-point lead on Sestak.

    That advantage is down to single digits, according to the school’s most recent survey.

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    The Sestak campaign has now put out an ad featuring President George W. Bush calling Specter a “firm ally” back in 2004.

    The spot also shows a clip of Specter saying the switch from Republican to Democrat will “enable [him] to be elected.”

    Sestak says the ad is a fair attack.

    “Those were his words,” says Sestak. “The words were of George Bush, calling him the strongest ally. As the tax cuts, that rewarded the very wealthy – he was the decisive vote, as Rick Santorum said. But we elected to let them [Senator Specter and President Bush] speak for themselves. I thought that was appropriate.”

    Since the beginning of the campaign, Specter has argued he’s always stood with Democrats on issues like abortion rights, medical research, and support for the minimum wage.

    He’s hoping endorsements by President Obama and Vice President Biden will cancel out his past history with President Bush.

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