So let me get this straight: Montana's senior U.S. Senator Max Baucus, a Democrat, nominates his long-time staffer - whom he recently started dating - for a U.S. Attorney slot in Montana along with five other qualified individuals, and gave no preference as to who should get the job. She was so qualified for the post that she was narrowed down by an independent panel before she took herself out of the running because she and Baucus decided they wanted to live together in Washington. Not only were the two of them separated from their spouses, but Baucus and his estranged wife had split amicably and have decided to divorce after 25 years of marriage. How is this a scandal?
Baucus is being compared to South Carolina's Republican Governor Mark Sanford, who left his state to visit his mistress in Argentina and left everyone in the dark as to his whereabouts, including the state's Lieutenant Governor. "Hiking in the Appalachian trail" has now become a euphemism in the political lexicon for seeing one's mistress. Oh, and South Carolina's First Lady was completely in the dark about his betrayal of their marriage vows. No wonder the South Carolina Legislature has now begun impeachment proceedings against Governor Sanford. Baucus was also compared to Nevada's Republican U.S. Senator John Ensign, who also cheated on his wife. Ensign's betrayal went a bit deeper, though - the woman he cheated on his wife with was married to his chief of staff - a double whammy. And after the scandal went public, it was revealed that Ensign's parents gave a "gift" of tens of thousands of dollars to the couple. This scandal has a chance to mushroom a bit bigger, because Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma - also a Republican - helped Ensign in this tawdry little affair and may have tried to help him hush it up. It should also be noted that Ensign was a member of the Senate Republican leadership before this scandal broke.
Perhaps Baucus shouldn't have nominated his girlfriend for a U.S. Attorney slot, but it's not as though she wasn't qualified. He had a long-running professional relationship with her dating back to 2002, so he had an opportunity to see her work ethic. He is also a longtime U.S. Senator from Montana and presumably chose her because he knew she could do a good job for the people of Montana, which is backed up by the fact that she was one of three people that made it to a narrowed-down list of possible nominees. Seems like the media is desperate to create a "scandal" where there is none, perhaps to balance out their coverage of very real Republican scandals.
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