Sanford, Ensign, Whatever -- At Least It's Not 2011

Yes, believe it or not, there is good news these days for Republicans. For one thing, their 2012 presidential prospects are imploding in 2009 instead of 2011. For another, if they are so inclined, there's still plenty of time to rebrand the GOP as less judgmental about other people's personal lives.

Just a day after Nevada Sen. John Ensign apologized to his colleagues for his extramarital affair with a married aide, South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford stuns us with the news that he has been having an extramarital affair with a woman in Argentina.

From a party perspective, this casts quite a pall. Both men were GOP leaders who now have resigned their party posts -- Ensign as head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, Sanford as head of the Republican Governors Association. Both were viewed as 2012 prospects. Sanford grabbed national attention for trying to pay down debt with federal stimulus money. Ensign, meanwhile, visited Iowa, which kicks off the presidential nominating process.

Beyond those two, other party stars are looking a bit dimmer this year -- Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal after a muffed national TV performance and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin after months of tabloid attention, ethics controversies and questions about the competence of her staff. And another potential GOP candidate, Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, is slated to be the Obama administration's new ambassador to China.

Still, it's only 2009. Several lifetimes will pass between now and the 2012 campaign. That's certainly enough time for politicians to stop bragging about their own family values while condemning those of others. All that does is set them up for charges of hypocrisy down the road.