One of the rising stars of the Republican Party, Senator John Ensign of Nevada, has admitted to having an extramarital affair with a married woman on his campaign staff. He made the announcement at a hastily convened press conference in Las Vegas last night, having flown in from Washington where he warned party leaders of his impending announcement.
Ensign had only recently emerged as a possible presidential candidate for 2012, a serious name for party members to consider once they get Sarah Palin out of their system. Just three weeks ago, he paid a visit to Iowa, fueling speculation about a run for the White House because of the state's significance as the first to hold its primary in any presidential election campaign.
"I deeply regret and am very sorry for my actions," Ensign said at the news conference. His wife, Darlene, was not at her husband's side as is customary on these occasions, but issued a statement saying the couple's marriage had become "stronger" after the affair.
Ensign did not name the other woman, who left his staff early last year, but it is well known in Nevada political circles that she is 46-year-old Cynthia Hampton. She is married to Douglas Hampton, who also worked for the Senator: he served as an aide in his Capitol Hill office from November 2006 to May 2008.
There were claims last night that Ensign decided to go public after Hampton asked the Senator for a substantial sum of money.
Ensign described the affair as "the worst thing I have ever done in my life" and added: "If there was ever anything in my life that I could take back, this would be it."
Charges of hypocrisy do not help his situation today. Ensign is a member of an Evangelical group called Promise Keepers that promotes marriage fidelity. He was one of many who called for President Bill Clinton to resign when news of his affair with the White House intern Monica Lewinsky came out. And he was one of the first out of the blocks to condemn fellow senator Larry Craig when he was arrested for lewd conduct in a men's lavatory at the Minneapolis-St Paul International Airport in 2007.
By Jack Bremer The First Post
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