A promising future awaited Sen. John Ensign. The Republican from Nevada seemed ready to raise his national profile—as a plausible candidate for a place on the 2012 ticket perhaps. He earned attention, of course, and notoriety. He may save his Senate seat, but his bedchamber antics have doomed him as a national force. Payments to the aide who was his mistress spread the stain.

The next presidential election will not occur until 2012, but potential candidates already are committing consequential news. Republicans have lost two potential contenders, for instance. The admission of an affair dooms Nevada Sen. John Ensign. The news that he had been sweating around with an associate (who was the wife of an aide) broke soon after he had made one of those toe-dipping trips to a state with an early date on the nomination calendar. Support for Ensign in Nevada immediately collapsed. Although politicians have recovered from scandal before, Ensign’s career lies in ruins.

Just two weeks after taking the first steps toward a 2012 presidential bid, rising conservative star is admitting to an extramarital affair last year with a campaign aide.