Steve Mellon, Post-Gazette U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., speaks to the Post-Gazette editorial board yesterday. Click photo for larger image.

Sen. Arlen Specter thinks Lynn Swann has the potential to be a formidable candidate for governor among Pennsylvania's black voters. First, however, the former Steelers wide receiver needs to get a firmer grasp on the issues. Then he needs to loosen up.

"His race could be a very strong factor, but not in a shirt and tie," Mr. Specter, a fellow Republican, said yesterday. "Have him go into the community and get his hands dirty."

In a meeting with the Post-Gazette's editorial board, the five-term senator said he is supporting Mr. Swann's campaign to unseat Gov. Ed Rendell. He then offered some unsolicited advice to the gubernatorial candidate, a relative political newcomer who has stumbled on some policy questions in the past, including during a high-profile February interview on ABC with George Stephanopoulos.

Mr. Specter said Mr. Swann must become "conversant" in the topics that matter to black communities, such as job training, education, and the criminal justice system, and start talking about them in the state's major urban areas, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.

By doing that, Mr. Swann likely could attract support from both black voters and white liberal voters, the senator said.

Melissa Walters, press secretary for Mr. Swann, said the campaign is already following Mr. Specter's guidance, calling for a closing of the achievement gap between black and white students in public schools and a stronger emphasis on small and minority-owned businesses.

"That's exactly what we're doing, traveling the state and talking about real change," she said. "We're certainly greatly encouraged by the senator's support."

Mr. Specter also said Mr. Swann's status as a professional athlete could attract younger black voters.

He described Mr. Rendell, who once worked under him in the Philadelphia district attorney's office, as a "tough," but not unbeatable, candidate.

"I think this gambling stuff he's doing is awful," Mr. Specter said. "I think the awarding of these licenses is going to be fraught with problems, with all sorts of overtones of favoritism, if not corruption."

Mr. Specter also had some advice for Sen. Rick Santorum, who is facing a tough fight for re-election this year and has consistently trailed the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination, state Treasurer Bob Casey Jr., in public opinion polls.

"He is a very sincere guy," Mr. Specter said of his colleague, a conservative politician known to take vocal stances on a range of controversial social issues. "One of his problems is he's too sincere. I say, 'Hey Rick, you can have some unexpressed thoughts.' That's an old adage."

Virginia Davis, press secretary for the Santorum campaign, said the two senators have a strong relationship, but Pennsylvanians expect Mr. Santorum to express his opinions.

"Sen. Santorum is known for speaking his mind because he believes he has an obligation to those he serves to be honest about his beliefs," she said.