The Ensign conundrum

Northern Nevada political writer Ray Hagar wrote an interesting retrospective on the day he interviewed former Sen. John Ensign, post-affair.

It was a worthy piece, but Hagar received harrumphs from more liberal pundits when he wrote:

"Ensign fell far and hard in 2011. So did Nevada's influence.

"We all lose with Ensign's downfall.

"Nevada will probably never have a situation where we have the most powerful Democrat in the Senate (Harry), paired with one of the most influential Republicans (Ensign). And to top it off, these guys had a policy of mutual respect and used their wealth of influence to work together for the good of Nevada, despite party politics.

"Nevada will miss John Ensign, the John Ensign who was focused and at the top of his game."

I'd say Hagar gives a fair representation of the Ensign legacy.

He was an influential player and nationally he was poised to be somebody.

But, he literally screwed it up. And that, dear Nevadans, will always be the Ensign conundrum.

P.S.: Hope you'll tune in Sunday to my weekly newspaper column. I'll be writing about my No. 1 hope for 2012. Hint: It is for an end to hunger in America, which logically means a new president. I'll explain Sunday.