Interesting development from last night’s speech by President Obama in which he announced his intention to send 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan.

In the words of one of his predecessors, you could say he was drawing a line in the sand.

In the process he also drew a line in the sands of Pennsylvania politics.

There is a clear distinction over U.S. policy in Afghanistan among the two men who are battling for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate.

On one side, there is newly minted Democratic Sen. Arlen Specter. He makes it clear he does not support the Afghan troop surge. He instead wants to specifically target al-Qaeda, which he says can fight out of other countries. He also points out the many countries who have met their Waterloo in the rough terrain of Afghanistan.

On the other hand there is U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak, D-7, of Edgmont, who is bucking the odds and challenging Specter for the Dem nod.

Sestak just as clearly says he supports the president’s goal and the troop increase, although he does have some issues with Obama’s move to set a fixed timetable to get out.

There you have it. If you’re looking for differences in the two Democratic candidates for U.S. Senate, there’s a big one right out of the box.

Here’s a hint: Look for these positions to soften and move closer to each other, supporting the president, as time goes on.