What Are These 'Principles' You Speak Of?

Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.), had a pretty good sense of the trauma he was inflicting on his party and his Republican colleagues when he defected last week. He's felt their pain, so to speak, at least judging from his comments on the Senate floor back in 2001, when Sen. Jim Jeffords left the GOP and handed the Democrats control of the Senate.

Specter's switch was not that apocalyptic, leaving the Democrats only one vote short of a filibuster-proof 60 votes. And many probably shared some of Specter's 2001 anguish.

"It felt as if there had been a death in the family," he said. Other GOP moderates were "hurt and confused. For some, that has turned to anger," over what most felt was a "devastating loss." "We pleaded with him," Specter said.

Specter mentioned the inducements the GOP had offered Jeffords if he would stay in the fold. He spoke approvingly of then-Sen. Phil Gramm's view that those wanting to switch should resign first and then run for reelection as a member of the other party.

Specter acknowledged that he switched to avoid a very likely loss of his Senate seat next year, probably in the GOP primary. At least Jeffords, whose defection came shortly after he had won a third term, told his colleagues, according to Specter, that he "was opposed to the party's policies on many items and believed he could do more for his principles by organizing with the Democrats."

So old-school.

TEACH THE WORLD TO SING

It's the little things . . .

Former secretaries of state Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice ignored important occasions in other countries. For example, best we can tell, they never once issued a statement celebrating JCD, or Japanese Children's Day. So it's no wonder the world hated us.

But Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, despite many difficult issues confronting her, found time to note the holiday yesterday.

"It is my pleasure to offer warm wishes to boys and girls in Japan on the May 5 occasion of Children's Day," she said in a statement. "On this holiday, Japanese families celebrate the joys of childhood and family life. Children are, indeed, a national treasure, and both the United States and Japan share a strong commitment to childhood health, safety, and education. It is a responsibility for all of us to work together to ensure the protection of children. It is our hope that one day children from all countries will be able to celebrate the carefree joys that children in Japan celebrate today."

Kids do fine here, too.

A DARK 'N' STORMY POST

Buzz down in Florida is that the state Senate minority whip, Anthony C. Hill (D), is a leading contender to be consul general to Bermuda, which is still one of the finest postings around -- absolutely no heavy lifting, spectacular weather, only a couple of hours by air, English-speaking -- and, unlike some Caribbean islands, it's not all drug wars all the time.