Rendell, bullish as always

From Daniel Malloy in Philadelphia

Surrounded by microphones, where he often seems most at home, Gov. Ed Rendell offered his assessment of his friend Arlen Specter's loss earlier tonight at Specter campaign HQ in Center City Philly.

"He deserved better," Rendell said. "But I think all of us that know Arlen undestand what was out there and understand why people are angry, and you’ve got to move on."

Rendell moved on to voice his support for Joe Sestak against Pat Toomey in the general election -- but he still thinks Specter would have been a stronger choice.

"I think Arlen would have been a better candidate because all those Republicans voting for Arlen for 30-plus years, he would have gotten his share, and I'm not sure Joe can do that," he said. "Look, we have 1.3 million more Democrats in Pennsylvnia and we have to give them a reason to get them out."

The real story of the night, the always sunny Rendell insisted, was the 12th district victory for Mark Critz.

"The biggest message is Mark Critz’s victory," he said. "You guys are forgetting about Mark Critz’s victory. In a district that John McCain carried, don’t tell me about Democratic registration, it’s been a Republican-performing district, a district that I lost in my first run for governor, a district John McCain carried, Mark Critz won not only a victory, he won a substantial victory. And that says to me the shift you’ve seen in the national demographic where people now say about 45-40 they’d rather see a Democratic Congressman – that shift’s coming, guys. We’re not going ton be nearly as bad in November as people think."