The Full Specter

II. The D.A. Years: "It Was Hard to Like Arlen"

After his work on the Warren Commission, Specter returned to Philadelphia to spearhead a state investigation of the magistrate system. In 1965, in the midst of the inquiry, he announced he was running for district attorney against incumbent James Crumlish. He won, and quickly gained a reputation for being exceedingly bright and exceedingly difficult to work for. He revolutionized the office by hiring smart young assistant D.A.'s regardless of their political affiliation.

Lynne Abraham, current Philadelphia District Attorney: I first met Arlen when he interviewed me to be an assistant D.A. I didn't know him from a can of paint. In the previous D.A. administration — the Crumlish--Fitzpatrick team — I'd tried to get in. But in those days, the first question put to you was, "Who's your ward leader?" I had no idea who my ward leader was. I was working at HUD and despised my job. I took a night course at Temple Law taught by Dick Sprague, who was Arlen's number two. He asked me, "Who are you? Why are you not in the D.A.'s office?" I told him I didn't know my ward leader. He said, "That's not the way it is under Arlen." When Arlen interviewed me, I told him I'd take a job on one condition: that they didn't stick me in juvenile court with all the other girl lawyers. He said [Abraham goes into an impression of Specter], "Just a minute, young lady." He was dumbstruck. No one talked to Arlen Specter that way. But he must have figured that if I spoke to him like that, I wouldn't be a pushover in the courtroom, and true to his word, I started as an ADA going toe-to-toe with the men.

Ed Rendell, Governor: As his employee, it was hard to like Arlen. You didn't dislike him, but he never showed you his softer side. But you respected him. And you feared him. I once had an 8 a.m. meeting scheduled in Arlen's office with six other ADAs, and I got there eight minutes late. He ripped me a new rear end, in front of everybody. I don't like thinking about it even now. "If this were a private law firm, you just wasted one-sixth of an hour of your bottom line," he said. That was how Arlen led: It was that feeling of, it's us vs. the world. He could be frightening, but also inspiring. He had a knack for making his ADAs feel like we were the last guardians at the gates of Hell vs. the forces of evil.

Arthur Makadon, chairman, Ballard Spahr: As a boss, he was very, very demanding and very, very good. Suffice to say, he was a serious taskmaster. Everyone describes Arlen as "tough." I would not. I would describe him as smarter than the people with whom he deals.

Lynne Abraham: He'd conduct those daily staff meetings in courtroom 653 in City Hall. We'd all sit in the jury box, and you'd have to stand up and tell how your day went. He'd give you an instantaneous critique. Let's say you had 25 cases and 10 weren't reached; he'd say, "What do you mean 10 weren't reached?" And I'd say, Judge So-and-So didn't get to them. He'd say, "I don't care about Judge So-and-So. You're in charge of your courtroom." Arlen never wanted to hear excuses.

Ed Rendell: Did anyone tell you about the five o'clock staff meetings? We dreaded them. You'd have to give an update on your cases, and if it was a favorable report, there would be no praise. He'd just say, "Okay." If there were too many continuances, or if you lost a case, he'd rip you. He'd call you on everything you did. You were petrified.

Arthur Makadon: I was with him throughout his second term in office, and those were the most informative professional years of my life. I learned more in those four years than in the rest of the years I practiced the law.

Arlen Specter, from his book: At the time, I knew those staff meetings were tough, but I thought they were necessary. ... My approach was to make my assistants prefer to take a strong stand to get cases tried and appropriate sentences imposed with recalcitrant judges than to face me in the staff meetings with weak excuses for not getting the job done. ... In retrospect, I should have done it differently.

Ed Rendell: When I became D.A., I didn't rule by fear like Arlen, but I would take pages out of his book at times. At around 7:30, I used to walk around like he would and see who was staying and working late and thank them — that tended to keep people around on the job later.

Elliott Curson, political consultant who did commercials for several Specter campaigns: The surprising thing is that there is a nice, warm, friendly side to him. It doesn't come out very often, but it is there.

Lynne Abraham: Nobody should underestimate the role [wife] Joan plays for Arlen. She's a leavening agent. She's softer, kinder, sweeter. He's always called her "Blondie."

Ed Rendell: He has a dry sense of humor. I'll have to think of some examples of his sense of humor, but he can be funny.

Lynne Abraham: He seems like an automaton — until he's had a couple of martinis. With a couple of drinks in him, he's the funniest guy in the room. I can't remember any specific instances of his sense of humor — but he has one.

Michael Smerconish: He's got a great, dry sense of humor. One-liners. I can't think of any specific examples, but he's funny.

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