What happened to the earnest John Ensign

Wednesday, July 1, 2009 | 2:01 a.m.

When I first met John Ensign in 1993 over coffee at the Country Inn on Rainbow Boulevard, the budding congressional candidate struck me as almost impossibly earnest and sincere. On the cusp of the Gingrich Revolution, Ensign presented himself as apolitical, ready to change Washington.

Sixteen years later it appears either Washington changed him or I couldn’t have been more wrong in my first impression. Ensign’s gradual ascent from a small apple of Newt’s eye to a large actor on the national stage and then his meteoric descent into historic cad status and butt of jokes is a metaphor for what happens to so many people in political life. I don’t just invoke the cliche of the naif who mutates into the narcissist, wondering why he shouldn’t be in the Oval Office. I also mean that the elective crucible, replete as it is with sycophants and manipulators whispering how wonderful you are and teeming with enticements not available to mere mortals, will find someone’s weakness and expose it, sooner or later.

For John Ensign that moment came two weeks ago as his mask of sincerity and earnestness was torn off with revelations that he was a world-class hypocrite who had judged others for their moral failings while he was Sen. Dorian Gray, the telegenic senator with a private portrait as ugly as any Oscar Wilde could have painted.

I often wonder in these situations not if politicians will survive but why they would want to. Exposed as a man who cheated with a woman who was both his wife’s close friend and his best friend’s wife would make most human beings want to slink into oblivion, their masquerade exposed, the thesis of an entire career based on rectitude proved false.

Cynthia Hampton’s pay doubled during the affair, her son hired during the affair, the cuckolded husband pawned off on a friend during the affair — I would want to go into hiding, not clutch onto a job in the most high-profile government body on the planet.

It is an inexorable law of politics and life that if you get up on your high horse, sooner or later, you get knocked down. (Take it from one who knows.)

For those who admired John Ensign for his family values absolutism, for those who liked him even if they disagreed with his politics, for those who worked for and supported him because they thought they knew him, the sense of betrayal is unimaginable. That he or any of his remaining supporters would have the chutzpah to try to denigrate Doug Hampton for demanding millions to compensate him for the diminishment of his happy marriage and the loss of his financial health is much more immoral than any faithless act Ensign ever condemned.

So whither Sen. Dorian Gray?

With his stated desire to continue with his Senate career (at least through 2012), and the predictably short attention span of a desensitized electorate, the instapunditry being practiced now tells us very little. Ensign’s credibility, at least on many issues, is irrevocably damaged but his political future depends on a few, simple factors.

As one Republican insider who knows Ensign and the players well put it succinctly, “None of us are perfect and while the staffer/best friend’s wife thing is creepy, Ensign will probably survive it. What he won’t survive is confirmation of another affair (especially another staffer) or an elaborate cover-up that breaks the law to gain silence.”

Doug Hampton also seems determined to tell his story, which cannot be helpful to the senator and would put him back in the spotlight. Can Hampton’s silence be bought? If not, what might he say? What can he prove?

The other issue is the ethics complaint filed by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, which could determine whether Ensign takes the road to redemption or to perdition. The seminal sentence: “Given that Sen. Ensign conducted an affair with a campaign employee who is married to a member of his office staff, and that both individuals were terminated, apparently for reasons related to the affair, the Select Committee on Ethics should immediately open an investigation into this matter.”

If, as Ensign claims, they were not fired and given routine severance benefits, and if he can surmount any disclosure issues surrounding the severance, he might survive, although reelection likely will be problematic. But what will Sen. Dorian Gray see when he looks in the mirror, even if he does keep his job?

I am not sure what happened to that earnest, sincere man I met for coffee 16 years ago. Maybe he doesn’t exist anymore or, worse, perhaps he never existed at all.

Discussion: 12 comments so far…

By Future

7/1/09 at 6:14 a.m.

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"I am not sure what happened to that earnest, sincere man I met for coffee 16 years ago."

Gee Jon I hope you never change - or have you?
By fremmasmind

7/1/09 at 6:21 a.m.

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Good article Jon.
Johnny E. knew what he was getting into and decided to go ahead with it anyway. Just when a person thinks they are invincible, they find out that their egos aren't strong enough to protect them from everything. The select committee
on ethics should investigate. This mess should be cleaned up.
By Galfromvegas

7/1/09 at 6:26 a.m.

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The killer line in this compelling column..."Take it from one who knows" demonstrates in Ralston a (new?) sense of humility and self deprecation that should be highly commended.
By cnev

7/1/09 at 7:41 a.m.

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The tragedy in this situation? Voters begin to believe cheating is "the new black".
This isn't about "we all make mistakes".
This is about voting for representation in our government. It isn't about "judging" behaviors"-it is about trusting politicians to advocate for citizens.

I think our entire political system is so corrupt and dishonest that citizens consider adultery and deception small infractions and not related to character.
By Nick

7/1/09 at 10:39 a.m.

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Ensign was a fraud and liar from the start.

Promise Keepers= Hypocrite child molesters with no morals.

They judge us and have no respect for the citizens.

Ensign should be in jail.
By hss46

7/1/09 at 11:40 a.m.

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Its so easy to sit on the sidelines and throw spitballs at politicians of all stripes. And politicians who profess sanctity while 'stepping out make the best targets for spitballs. While I note that the analogies between Spitzer on the one hand and Ensign/Sanford on the other are not complete, I wonder why the Democrats of NY were so quick to pressure him to resign while our Republican Party is essentially silent on the issue?

I'm not going to judge Sen. Ensign but elections are won by winning over the middle of the road voter while retaining the contributions and efforts of your base. I wonder how Sen. Ensign's behavior will impact on not only his ability to retain the loyalty and efforts of his base and but also to regain the trust and votes of the middle. More importantly what spillover effect does all this have on the willingness of the Republican base to work for and contribute to other Republicans and how it will impact on middle of the road voters attitudes towards those other Republicans. And all this in the context of a Republican Party that has been reeling since the 2006.
By Houstonjac

7/1/09 at 2:29 p.m.

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Relax.
There are many people who have been disappointed by Ensign's antics.
Maybe he's a hypocrite. Maybe he's just someone who we all thought was more perfect, and he's not.He still represents my personal political views on nearly all issues, and his office is on the ball responding to me on a variety of issues.
I will vote for him again if I get the chance.
By CarsonNewshound

7/1/09 at 3:21 p.m.

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Here's the killer. Those with power don't like to be subjected to the condemnations of those who elect them. And those who pay their campaign bills don't want to deal with it either. People like Ensign, Sandord and other hang onto their jobs not only to ease their guilt (how can I feel overly guilty, I AM STILL a U.S. Senator/Governor) but it also serves to worsen the public's cynicism about public office. If those in power and those who pay to elect them can somehow diminish the aura of respectibility and honor of public office, the public's cynacism can grow and create an illusion that "who cares who we vote for, they're all crooks. Oh well, back to my favorite TV program..." And in so doing, those in power (representing corrupt interests) will dilute the vigor and relevancy of our democracy. It will make it all the more likely that things will only get worse because it will seem impossible to change anything. The voter becomes more and more alienated, detached and uncaring. It's the perfect coup/hijacking of our democracy. They finally get to boil the collective frog.
By mred

7/1/09 at 11:02 p.m.

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why did he hire the Hamptons? and fire them? and get them jobs with his donor who owns an airline?

What qualifications did Brandon Hampton have as a researcher? Is it any wonder that the Republicans lost 8 Senate seats. Enswign was running the reelection effort. He bottom fished in the secretarial pool, why didn't he have an international honey like Sanford? Why did he go to a restaurant that had no liquor and no gambling? What did he order? Angel food cake?
By JohnF

7/2/09 at 3:20 p.m.

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Great column, Jon.

Thank goodness you're back. I hope you had a good vacation, but don't ever do that again.
By StanG

7/5/09 at 12:23 a.m.

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Hey Houston:
You'd vote for him again? I don't get it. I was told that Republicans, as opposed to us morally deficient Dems, are all about CHARACTER. Not so? You can overlook fornication and adultery as long as he thinks like you? So, you and he are simpatico?
BTW, are you married? Have a fiancee? A girl friend? Would you leave Ensign alone with her? For how long?
By GordonShumway

7/5/09 at 10:38 a.m.

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Clinton was smart enough to avoid the married ones! Ensign can't even get that right. He's a dunce at politics too, which makes him a great candidate in 2012. Any more trips to Iowa planned John?