Because this is my last offering before next week's general election, I fell into a contemplative mood and asked myself, "Did you write anything during the political season that really hit the nail on the head?"

I guess since this is my first campaign writing for the "Big Boys" of journalism, I wanted something to reinforce the notion that I had something important to say. And then it hit me -- I remembered that I wrote a little ditty back in July that took a tongue-in-cheek look at former and current malapropisms of the Gibbons family.

The column was a light-hearted piece talking about famous husband/wife comedy teams. And I noted how congressional candidate Dawn Gibbons had joined her husband in the foot-in-mouth club during a speech in Fernley. To make the point, I dredged up some of Jim Gibbons' previous and well-remembered statements.

I think that column had an underlying message that has been brought into sharper focus in recent days. To wit ...

What is it called when an incumbent congressman chooses to characterize the Democratic branch of his constituency as tree-hugging, Birkenstock-wearing, hippie, tie-dyed liberals? What is it called when the man who would be governor says such individuals should be used as human shields in Iraq?

It is called bad judgment.

And the judgment gets even worse when the speaker's words are later found to be plagiarized from the speech of another politician.

Why is this important now? Because the same bad judgment that went into Jim Gibbons' Lincoln Day dinner speech in Elko a few years ago has reared its ugly head again.

There seems little doubt that current events will not be put on the back burner by the publication of this column. The alleged sexual advance/assault probably will have a life well after the polls close on Nov. 7 -- with Gibbons either elected our next governor or rejected as another scandal-plagued loser. And it may be days, weeks or months (a good bet: never) before we know exactly what happened in a Las Vegas parking garage on Friday the 13th.

But what is certain is that the same bad judgment that plagued Gibbons with his characterizations of liberals is now a major concern for voters. Simply put -- and stated many, many times in other places -- what the hell was he thinking?

An officer and a gentleman might offer a damsel in distress a walk to her truck. That might be called chivalrous. A candidate for governor does not accompany anyone, anywhere, anytime on his own when the potential exists for scandal or perceived scandal. There is no "might" about this one. It is bad judgment.

So do we deprive Gentleman Jim of our vote because he made a little mistake one rainy October evening? Does this outweigh the times he voted in the affirmative on positions that we favor? Does it cancel out a record of military service that is unquestioned and respected?

Those are the kinds of questions that might enter some voters' minds. But if opinion counts for anything, mine says bad judgment is not something that should be swept under the rug -- whether it involves a mistake over walking alone with a single woman or using harsh and hurtful words simply for their shock effect.

Oh yeah, I guess bad judgment also involves employing an illegal alien. But that would be more piling on than is necessary to make this point.

We do not expect our leaders to be right all the time. In fact, with a two-party system, it is almost always a given that virtually all their actions will be viewed by some as wrong. That is why there are three branches of government, and a governor sits in the checks-and-balances sights of legislators and judges.

But there also can be little doubt that there are many times each day when our governor is asked to use personal judgment. A prime example for me as a deer hunter was Gov. Kenny Guinn's recent decision to allow a special depredation deer hunt in Elko County.

This was his call, his decision and his judgment. Without calling his decision right or wrong, I respect and believe that he used good judgment in his decision.

If we can't trust Jim Gibbons not to characterize some of his constituents with hurtful names and we can't trust him to stay away from a dangerous situation with a drinking acquaintance, can we trust him with the day-to-day gubernatorial decisions our next chief executive will have to make?

Bill Roberts is a veteran journalist in Tonopah. His column appears Wednesday. Contact him at broberts@reviewjournal.com.