Actually, Specter going on non-mainstream shows like Howard Stern's (and to a slightly lesser extent, Rush Limbaugh's and Jon Stewart's) shows is a good thing. Appearing with people like Stern makes him look like a buffoon; far less credible than if he were to be on any of the vanilla middle of the road shows like Today, Good Morning America, Oprah, or Regis and Kelly. Add to that, he is an in-office politician spending time hitting the talk show circuit in an attempt to make a buck by pushing his book. This is an act not considered to be acceptable or ethical in the minds of most Americans because it's as if he's making money writing and promoting a book when he should be working on the nation's problems. The public is far more likely going to come back looking at the ethics and motives of a public servant under a microscope than it would be at further scrutiny on the Pats. Time will tell, but my opinion is that this is an offensive move of Specter's that will backfire.