Editing Arlen Specter (section)

==Early political career==
[[File:WC Vol18 CE903 SBT alignement.jpg|thumb|Specter reproducing the assumed alignment of the single bullet theory. The subsequent revelation that [[Governor of Texas|Texas Governor]] [[John Connally]]'s seat in the Presidential limousine had been elevated with respect to [[John F. Kennedy|John Kennedy]]'s corroborated this theory.]]

===Involvement with the Warren Commission===
Specter worked for the [[Warren Commission]], which investigated the [[JFK assassination|assassination]] of [[John F. Kennedy]], at the recommendation of [[United States House of Representatives|Representative]] [[Gerald Ford]], who was then one of the Commissioners. As an assistant for the commission, he co-wrote the proposal of<ref>Bugliosi, p. 301–306. "Warren Commission staff lawyer Norman Redlich was asked by author Vincent Bugliosi in 2005 whether Specter was the sole author of the single bullet theory, and he said, 'No, we all came to this conclusion simultaneously.' When asked who he meant by 'we', he said, 'Arlen, myself, Howard Willens, David Belin, and Mel Eisenberg.' Specter did not respond to Bugliosi's request for a clarification on the issue."</ref> the "[[single bullet theory]]", which suggested the non-fatal wounds to Kennedy and wounds to [[Governor of Texas|Texas Governor]] [[John Connally]] were caused by the same bullet. This was a crucial assertion for the Warren Commission, since if the two had been wounded by separate bullets within such a short time frame, that would have demonstrated the presence of a second assassin and therefore a [[Conspiracy (crime)|conspiracy]].<ref>Bugliosi, p.456.</ref> Regarding this particular subject, the [[United States House Select Committee on Assassinations]] concluded that JFK's assassination was probably a product of a conspiracy, but this conclusion was based partially on acoustic evidence that was later called into question.{{citation needed|date=February 2025}}

[[File:MLKjr and Specter.jpg|thumb|Specter with [[Martin Luther King Jr.]]]]

===Initial electoral campaigns===
In 1965, Specter ran for Philadelphia [[district attorney]] against his former boss, incumbent James C. Crumlish Jr.<ref name=Fox1965/><ref name=WashingtonPost1965/> However, the city's Democratic leaders, such as [[Peter Camiel]], did not want Specter as their candidate, so he switched parties and ran as a Republican, prompting Crumlish to call him "Benedict Arlen".<ref name=Fox1965/><ref name=WashingtonPost1965/><ref>{{cite news|last=Mitchell|first=Andrea|title=Andrea Mitchell remembers Specter|url=http://nbcpolitics.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/10/14/14433097-andrea-mitchell-remembers-specter|newspaper=NBC News|date=October 14, 2012}}</ref> Specter defeated Crumlish by 36,000 votes.<ref name=Fox1965/> Although he was a supporter of capital punishment, as a prosecutor he questioned the fairness of the Pennsylvania death penalty statute in 1972.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Death Rattles|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,712208,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090501144650/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,712208,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 1, 2009|date=November 20, 1972|magazine=Time}}</ref>

[[1967 Philadelphia mayoral election|In 1967]] he was the Republican Party standard bearer, together with City Controller candidate, [[Tom Gola]], in the Philadelphia mayoral campaign against the Democratic incumbent [[James Tate (mayor)|James Tate]]. Two of their slogans were, "We need THESE guys to watch THOSE guys" and "They're younger, they're tougher, and nobody owns them!"<ref name=WashingtonPost>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/23/AR2005052301337_pf.html|title=Watch Those Guys|last=Dionne|first=E. J.|author-link=E. J. Dionne|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=May 24, 2005|access-date=July 16, 2007}}</ref> He served two four-year terms as district attorney for the city of Philadelphia, but was handily defeated in his bid for a third term in 1973 by noted criminal defense attorney [[F. Emmett Fitzpatrick]].<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.tnr.com/article/politics/media-specter|title=Media Specter &#124; The New Republic|magazine=The New Republic|publisher=Tnr.com|date=September 30, 1985|access-date=June 13, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100507154200/http://www.tnr.com/article/politics/media-specter|archive-date=May 7, 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=The Law: Tough, Honest and Fired|newspaper=Time|date=December 30, 1974|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,909030-1,00.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120913012826/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,909030-1,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 13, 2012|access-date=October 22, 2011 }}</ref>

In [[1976 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania|1976]], Specter ran in the Republican primary for the [[U.S. Senate]] and was defeated by [[H. John Heinz III|John Heinz]]. In [[1978 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election|1978]], he was defeated in the primary for [[Governor of Pennsylvania]] by [[Dick Thornburgh]].<ref name=UsNewsAndWorldReport>{{cite news|title=Irritating Them All |last=Samuel |first=Terence |url=https://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/050912/12specter_2.htm |date=September 4, 2005 |work=[[U.S. News & World Report]] |access-date=July 16, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929140825/http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/050912/12specter_2.htm |archive-date=September 29, 2007 }}</ref> After several years in private practice with the Philadelphia law firm [[Dechert, Price & Rhoads]], Specter ran again for the U.S. Senate in [[1980 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania|1980]]. This time, he won, and assumed office in January 1981.