There was a Democrat in the building Thursday.

Stop snickering. Some no doubt would tell you that’s not exactly news.

Our critics would harrumph that it might be more earth-shattering if a Republican turned up in our midst.

But this wasn’t just any Democrat. This was a newly minted United States senator.

Yes, Sen. Arlen Specter found his way to beautiful downtown Primos.

And I have to tell you this: For a guy who is approaching 80 and has been through the health battles Specter has waged, he looks great.

Specter wanted to chat, and we were more than willing to listen. We’ll offer a full story on Sunday from staffer Alex Rose.

Here’s my quick cheat sheet:

* First, of course, I got to the important stuff. I asked him about his frequent appearances on WIP. Specter never batted an eye. He does it because “it’s fun.”

But he’s not a Donovan McNabb fan. He made it pretty clear he doesn’t think McNabb will ever lead the Eagles to a Super Bowl.

Some other choice thoughts from the senator:

* He feels “pretty good” that the Senate will vote on health care legislation before the end of the year – and that it will have a public option.

* He made the switch, jumping from the Republican side of the aisle to Democratic, because of “irreconcilable” differences with the GOP. He admitted his vote for President Barack Obama’s stimulus package made him a target.

* He did not specifically look at his own polling numbers, which showed there was no way he would beat GOP challenger Pat Toomey, before making his decision to flip.

* He did not talk to President Obama, Vice President (and former Senate and Amtrak chum) Joe Biden or Gov. Ed Rendell before making his decision. And he absolutely never got any guarantee that they would clear the path for him in the Democratic primary.

* He does not support increasing troop levels in Afghanistan, unless the mission can be directly tied to eliminating Al-Qaeda. That puts him in fairly direct opposition to his foe in the Democratic primary, Rep. Joe Sestak.

* He is for the Employee Free Choice Act, but he will not vote for a version that contains the card check provision. He instead wants to find some kind of compromise.

* His health is fine and he doesn’t especially want to talk about age as an issue in this campaign. He also will not indicate that, should he be re-elected, this would be his last term. He’ll be 86 at the time.

He left me with one overall impression. Joe Sestak is on a suicide mission.

I can only hope I look that good – and make that much sense – when I’m 80.