Was Specter Joking?

Mark Halperin is really pushing Sen. Arlen Specter’s (D-Pa.) comment that he wants the Minnesota Supreme Court to “do justice and declare Norm Coleman the winner,” but in the context of The New York Times Magazine interview it comes from, it sounds an awful lot like a … joke.

With your departure from the Republican Party, there are no more Jewish Republicans in the Senate. Do you care about that?
I sure do. There’s still time for the Minnesota courts to do justice and declare Norm Coleman the winner.

Which seems about as likely at this point as Jerry Seinfeld’s joining the Senate.
Well, it was about as likely as my becoming a Democrat.

I called Specter’s office to clear this up but, surprise surprise, got a busy signal. If this keeps bouncing around he’ll probably clear it up with a statement.