By Barb Shelly, Kansas City Star editorial page columnist

A couple of weeks ago, Nevada Senator John Ensign said the fact that he was stumping around Iowa did not indicate that he was planning a presidential run.

Today, Ensign released a statement owning up to an extramarital affair with a campaign staffer.

Yep. Sounds like he's planning to run.

Get the baggage out in the open early, spend a few months doing penitence, then full speed ahead in campaign mode.

Ensign, a leading "family-values" conservative, was adamant about demanding Idaho Sen. Larry Craig's resignation after the infamous incident in the airport bathroom. But he'll probably cut himself some slack. This sounds, after all, like more of your run-of-the-mill indiscretion. Hey, it didn't stop Bill Clinton from getting to the White House.