Former U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania has died. He was 82.
Republican presidential candidate Ronald Reagan holds up the hand of U.S. Senate candidate Arlen Specter at fundraising party for Specter in Philadelphia. (Walter Zeboski / Associated Press)
Dr. Everett Koop, left, who had been nominated to be the U.S. surgeon general, chats with Sens. Arlen Specter, center, and Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) before a confirmation hearings on Capitol Hill. (Ron Edmonds / Associated Press)
Senate Judiciary Committee member Arlen Specter questions witnesses defending Anita Hill, who accused Clarence Thomas of sexually harassing her in the 1980s. (John Duricka / Associated Press)
Vice President Joe Biden talks with Specter. (Saul Loeb / AFP/Getty Images)
Sen. Arlen Specter, left, confers with Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) in 2002 at a hearing about government surveillance powers. (Joe Marquette / Associated Press)
Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) greets Specter. Specter ran for reelection to the Senate as a Democrat in 2010. I have found myself increasingly at odds with the Republican philosophy and more in line with the philosophy of the Democratic Party, he said. (Michael Reynolds / EPA)
Specter talks to reporters before voting on the economic stimulus bill in February 2009. He was one of three Republican senators to cross party lines and support the $787-billion package -- the three votes were just enough to ensure that the GOP could not block the bill with a filibuster. (Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images)
President Obama greets Sen. Arlen Specter at an event honoring Jewish American Heritage Month in the East Room of the White House. (Charles Dharapak / Associated Press)
