He should resign. Now.

"The woman's husband was married to a man who worked in Ensign's Senate office."

Unless this is just slack proofreading, it sounds like Nevada is really on the cutting edge for alternative marriage rights.

But seriously, Politico also reported that the staffer was paid a severance package when Ensign ended the affair. Since staff salaries are paid for by the US taxpayers, will there be an investigation into that package?

Really, Alex?

I knew prostitution was legal in Nevada, but I had no idea polygamy was legal as well. What's the matter, too bored by your own writing to bother a reread before publishing? We letter-writers do that a lot but we have the excuse that we aren't getting paid for it.

If the contents of this article prove accurate; that the affair happened while Ensign was separated from his wife and that it ended when they reconciled, I don't see a huge issue here. Perhaps some religious wingnut will point out that technically the marriage was still in place and so SHAME, SHAME, YOU SINNER! But that isn't us is it?

This whole incident seems a little tawdry but it doesn't rise to the level of Vitter and his "moral failure massages."

"The woman's husband was married to a man who worked in Ensign's Senate office." Clearly he started with either "The woman was married to a man who worked in Ensign's Senate office" or "The woman's husband worked in Ensign's Senate office", but he went back to change the wording and forgot to make the rest of the sentence agree.

I know you Koppelman-bashers try to nitpick everything he does, but calling this out only reflects badly upon you.

so, former Repu'ublicist senator Rick Man-Dog-Marriage Sphinctorum can rest easy.

... is because Republicans are constantly pandering to people who want it to be news. This really shouldn't be a matter of public interest at all, except maybe in the gossip columns.

I hate to quibble with you at this rare moment that you're showing some principles other than R=good, D=bad. However, I'm wondering, why should he resign? Should Vitter and Craig have also resigned?

I don't care about Sen. Ensign's family life. Sure, it's hypocritical and embarrassing that a guy who talks about the "sanctity of marriage" has no problem boning a married staffer while he's technically still married, but I'm just glad that a Republican congressman is attracted to adult females for a change.

What really pisses me off is that the Senate is voting on a bill to promote business and leisure travel, the lifeblood of Southern Nevada, and this dumbass is in front of a microphone in LV instead of behind a wooden table in DC voting. Go do your damn job.

The senator had also been considered a possible contender for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012, something that now seems very unlikely.

This sort of thing didn't harm Clinton, did it? Not even back in the bygone days of 1992. Serial philanderer Newt Gingrich is still a likely 2012 contender, isn't he? What source do you have for this snap judgment?

I'm no fan of Republican politicians, but I don't see how you can support the belief that Americans are so uncharitable as to not forgive this kind of behavior, especially while the Senator and his wife were separated.

If it turns out that the severance package was irregular, or if other facts come to light indicating actual corruption, it could be a different story.

Involvement with more than one person at a time predates marriage, so doing so is okay.

Thanks for the catch, it's been fixed. Thanks to Mr. Smith as well.

We were on a break!

So what? I thought freedom was the cornerstone upon which our society was founded. We haven't quite finished perfecting the details yet though.

Personally I think hypocrisy should at least double the weight of any given sin. That's just my opinion though. With adultery, as with most sins, It's OK If You're A Republican. (IOKIYAR)

but it takes two years to write about John Edwards...At least Salon is consistently inconsistent...

The woman's husband was married to a man who worked in Ensign's Senate office.

Are you really saying the woman's husband was married to a man at one time and his former spouse/husband worked in Ensign's office!!!!!

The relevance (and hypocrisy) is when these same Congressmen are so outspoken about gay marriage degrading the sanctity of the institution.

Sen. Ensign will find Jesus and will establish a personal relationship with him, of the non-sexual kind, and everything will be fine in wingnut-land

The louder you scream and judge other people about some moral issue, the more likely you are to be covering something up in your own personal life.

If I'm not mistaken, Salon reported that the National Enquirer was breaking the Edwards affair story before it even came out, so I don't believe you are correct on that topic.

If I'm not mistaken, Salon reported that the National Enquirer was breaking the Edwards affair story before it even came out, so I don't believe you are correct on that topic.

The article you reference was only cited by Salon due to the "photographic evidence" of John visiting his mistress and love child in LA...The Enquirer (and other publications) were writing about this for at least a year without a single mention in Salon...

The Enquirer (and other publications) were writing about this for at least a year without a single mention in Salon...

This is going to come as a shock to a wingnut like yourself, but the Enquirer is not generally the place where respected media outlets go for their stories. I know, I know, to you it's 2nd only to the Bible. I'm sure you're pissed off by the lack of stories about Batboy as well.

Try and understand: until Edwards made a public admission, the story was largely heresay. Same goes for Ensign. It just so happens that Ensign made his public admission today, hence the article. Once Edwards made a public admission, he got articles as well, many times the number devoted to Ensign.

Does that satisfy you, or do you still demand a waaaambulance?