Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) registers his 10,000th vote

Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) cast his 10,000th vote on Monday and was surprised that other senators opted to deliver speeches marking the occasion.

Specter was prepared to exit the chamber, but was alerted that Sen. Bob Casey, Jr. (D-Pa.) wished to make some remarks on Specter’s milestone vote.
 
Casey was unable to make the comments for an hour due to train delays, which caused many senators to arrive late, therefore leaving the vote open.
 
“It was a very unusual situation for me personally,” Specter said. “I had nothing to do but to sit and think, and I was reflecting upon the 10,000 votes.”
 
After thanking Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) for his kind remarks, Specter spoke about why he went into public life and decided to run for office.

Specter's vote was on the nomination of Rosanna Peterson to be a U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of Washington.