You may have already noted our piece about Arlen Specter in this week's magazine, where we discuss Specter's precarious position as the man in the middle. Democrats are looking to him to provide the magical 60th vote in the Senate (assuming Franken is eventually seated), but he's up for re-election in 2010, and needs to burnish his conservative bona fides to beat out challenger Pat Toomey in the GOP primary. Specter only just grazed past Toomey in their 2004 primary match up. One option we didn't discuss in the magazine article, but that pundits are buzzing about, is the possibility of Specter running as an independent - doing a Joe Lieberman if you will. But in Pennsylvania a candidate can only run as an independent if they haven't already lost in a primary, thus ruling out the Lieberman's path. Specter would have to declare himself as an independent and bow out of GOP primary. Dan Stone and I asked Specter about that possibility when we sat down with him. His response was unequivocal:

Newsweek: Would you consider running as an independent.

Specter: No.

Newsweek: No? Definitely not?

Specter: I'm a Republican and I'm going to run in the Republican primary and on the Republican ticket.

Newsweek: We talked to Governor Rendell who said that the running joke is that you could easily become a Democrat and if you did, the framework in the state would make things very easy for you.

Specter: I'm not considering it. Rendell said he would help me raise money. He said that publicly a few weeks ago and I responded publicly that if I became a Democrat I wouldn't need to raise money.

 I guess that's that, but when are things ever that simple in politics?

The exodus of top Justice Department officials continues with Richard Hertling--embattled Attorney General Alberto Gonzales's point man in dealing with Congress--slated to resign next week to take a top policy job with the soon-to-be-announced presidential campaign of Fred Thompson, a senior Justice official confirmed to NEWSWEEK.

Hertling, who has been serving as acting attorney general for legislative affairs, is the latest in a parade of departures in recent months that is threatening to leave the Justice Department virtually denuded of senior political appointees. Since the controversy over the firing of U.S. attorneys erupted earlier this year, more than half a dozen top officials have either resigned or announced their intention to do so, including Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty, his chief of staff, Michael Elston, Acting Associate Attorney General William Mercer, Gonzales's chief of staff, Kyle Sampson, and White House liaison Monica Goodling.

"The Titanic is sinking," Bruce Fein, a former top Justice Department official under the Reagan administration and a sharp Gonzales critic, said today about Hertling's resignation. "The fact is the department has become dysfunctional. Gonzales is going to be left with no subordinates."