John Ensign

Scandal-Plagued Sen. Ensign Delivers Emotional Farewell As Bin Laden Distracts

Benjy Sarlin | May 2, 2011, 4:44PM

Sen. John Ensign (R-NV)

With the world's eyes focused on the late Osama Bin Laden and Congress largely quiet, Sen. John Ensign (R-NV) ended his tumultuous political career with a farewell speech from the Senate floor on Monday afternoon.

Ensign, who announced his resignation last month almost two years after revealing an extramarital affair with a staffer, issued an apology to his family and fellow lawmakers -- and a warning to avoid his path to ruin.

In his remarks, Ensign lamented how he had grown "blind to how arrogant and self-centered that I had become" en route to his scandal, even as he saw the same self-centeredness exhibited in his Senate colleagues.

"My caution to all of my colleagues is to surround yourself with people who will be honest with you about how you really are and what you are becoming, and then make them promise to not hold back, no matter how much you may try to prevent them, from telling you the truth," Ensign said. "I wish that I had done this sooner, but this is one of the hardest lessons that I've had to learn."

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