At last, Sen. Ensign distinguishes himself

For years I’ve waited for U.S. Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev., Seldom Seen) to step out of the pack and make a name for himself on the national political scene.

For a while it appeared he was headed that direction when he was entrusted with national fund-raising for his caucus, an effort that degraded into a monumental failure. (In fairness, a lot of Republicans took it on the chin in the last election cycle.)

Following major GOP losses in the Senate, Ensign’s stock figured to rise substantially. At last he would enter the national spotlight for the Grand Old Party. He even started making the rounds of the Sunday morning political talk shows.

There was even talk of Ensign as a possible candidate for president or vice president.

Then his affair with former staffer and family friend Cynthia Hampton came out. Ensign called it the biggest mistake he’d ever made.

Then it was revealed Ensign allowed his parents to make payments to the Hamptons. I call that the second biggest mistake he ever made.

Then John Ensign took a page out of the Howard Hughes book of media celebrity and flat disappeared. Just when it looked like Ensign’s face was destined to turn up only on the back of milk cartons, our man in Washington is back in the news.

Just this week the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington came out with its list of the 15 most corrupt members of Congress. And there was John Ensign.

Imagine. The top 15!

I am so proud of our Johnny boy. This brings a tear to my eye.

It’s not every day a major Nevada political figure achieves such a designation from an organization that shows no political favoritism. (There are eight Democrats and seven Republicans on the list.)

Now that Sen. Ensign has distinguished himself on the national stage, his political career is sure to go great places.