Las Vegas Review-Journal - Steve Sebelius Slash Politics

There’s no doubt America is a narcissistic society, what with reality TV, Facebook, Twitter and the inexplicable fact that people know the name Heidi Montag. But nowhere is the tendency toward self-centeredness more obvious than in the “rare” interview granted to the Review-Journal today by U.S. Sen. John Ensign.

You remember Ensign, right? He’s the Promise-Keeper Christian moralizer who seduced his best friend’s wife while both were working for him. He later sent a note to his lover, Cindy Hampton, explaining that he used her for his own pleasure, and was only thinking about himself.

Well, duh. Take one look at Ensign’s hairdo and you know he spends more than his share of time in front of a looking glass.

But today’s story provides more evidence. To wit:

• “Listen, I don’t believe I did anything legally or ethically wrong, so I don’t have any problems cooperating,” he said. “It is just a process that is going to take some time, and all that kind of stuff is out of my control.”
• “In some regards, it also has been one of the most valuable years of my life in learning lessons,” said Ensign, a conservative Christian whose promotion of family values throughout his political career made his sin all the more striking.
• “I have attempted certainly to become a better husband and father,” he said. “I have worked really hard to try to earn the trust of the people of Nevada back by working harder than I have ever worked.”
• “Right now, all I can do is just focus on the job at hand,” he said. “As I have been saying lately, the future will take care of itself. I am not going to deal with that until we are in that cycle. We will make that decision then.”
• “When I go around the state, the only people who ask me about this is the media,” he said. “Wherever I go in the state, it is, ‘Please don’t resign. Stay in there. Keep fighting. You are doing a great job.’”
• “My marriage is stronger than it has ever been,” he said. “I think my relationship with my children is better. You find out the people who are loyal to you and who are fair weather friends.
• “That can be a healthy exercise. It can be a healthy thing to go through.”

Got that? Being investigated by the FBI for potentially breaking federal laws can really help you grow as a person. I doubt if even Ensign believes the words that fall from his lips at this point (certainly those caught up in this investigation because of Ensign’s mendacity have learned not to) although the scariest possibility is that he has deluded even himself.

The point is, a criminal investigation by the Justice Department (and a political investigation by the Senate Ethics Committee) are not designed to teach life lessons, but to ferret out criminal or political wrongdoing. Ensign was never in the dock for being a bad husband and father — although evidence now shows he’s guilty of those crimes, too. And Ensign was never particularly known for his work ethic before the scandal broke, so applying himself more than he did before is relative.

In one sense, we can hardly blame Ensign for saying these things. What’s an accused politician to do, confess? The evidence against Ensign is powerful, cumulative and sure to increase as the probes go forward. But one wonders if Ensign will ever truly learn that his ordeals are not trials to make him a better person, but exercises in accountability for the person he already is. If Ensign is able to improve his lot, so much the better. But first, he’s going to have to give account for the bad acts that got him where is now.

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