Specter camp says he wasn't reminiscing about GOP days

Sen. Arlen Specter's (D-Pa.) campaign says a quote attributed to the senator today, in which he reminisces about his days as a Republican, didn't provide the full picture.

The Allentown Morning Call reported that Specter said this in an interview:

"Well, I probably shouldn't say this. But I have thought from time to time that I might have helped the country more if I'd stayed a Republican."

Specter's campaign just blasted an e-mail that says an important clause was left off the quote, and that it should read as follows:

"Well, I probably shouldn’t say this, but I have thought from time to time that I might have helped the country more if I’d stayed Republican and tried to bring people across the aisle on healthcare. I might have brought a few across the aisle.”

The meaning of the first quote is intact, but the elaboration provided in the full quote provides some important context. The second quote certainly makes it sound less like his pining for the days when he was in the good ole' GOP, and more like he wishes he could have facilitated some bipartisanship in a city that is sorely lacking it.

Update 2:57 p.m.: Morning Call state editor Pete Leffler (who is not the author of the story) responds: "The Morning Call precisely conveyed everything Sen. Specter said in a way not open to interpretation."