So Joe Sestak says the White House offered him a job to keep him from running against Specter. That part doesn't surprise me; I imagine the White House did try to keep him out of the race. The part that's fascinating is that Sestak went public with it.

In politics, other politicians need to trust you - and your sense of discretion. Embarrassing the White House publicly probably isn't a good way to build relationships:

In the face of a White House denial, U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak stuck to his story yesterday that the Obama administration offered him a "high-ranking" government post if he would not run against U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter in Pennsylvania's Democratic primary.

A White House official "vociferously" denied his account yesterday as Sestak insisted on national television that he had told the truth, but declined for a second day to divulge details.

[...] Sestak made his startling claim Thursday during the taping of Comcast Network's Larry Kane: Voice of Reason, a public affairs show televised on Sunday evenings.

"Were you ever offered a federal job to get out of this race?" Kane asked near the end of the 30-minute interview.

"Yes," Sestak answered.

"Was it Navy secretary?" Kane asked.

"No comment," Sestak replied.