Paul Morrison campaigned for Kansas attorney general on the platform that he was the candidate of experience and good judgment.

Not all that good, as it turns out.

What kind of guy puts himself in the limelight, promotes himself as a bastion of integrity, and thinks he can get away with an extramarital affair with a staffer? Morrison even let us know while he was campaigning that he and his wife counseled couples at their church about forging strong marriages.

What makes this such a sad development is that Morrison, as the Johnson County prosecuting attorney, made courageous decisions at considerable political risk. Not seeking the death penalty in the Ali Kemp murder case is one that comes to mind.

But, with this disclosure, I think he's mortally wounded. The public can't be expected to have confidence in his professional integrity when he's displayed such a dearth of personal integrity.

Morrison's suggestion that Phill Kline, his political nemesis and successor in the Johnson County courthouse, had something to do with leaking the story is probably on target. One tipoff: The story broke in the Topeka Capital-Journal, the state's only major newspaper to endorse Kline over Morrison and one of the few newspapers with which Kline enjoys a good rapport.

But it doesn't matter. Morrison brought this on himself. He handed Kline the gift of comeupance--wrapped in shiny paper and tied with a big red ribbon.

Barb Shelly, editorial board