Experts - Affair may doom Ky. governor's political future

Knight Ridder Newspapers

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Caught in a lie that could doom his political future, Gov. Paul Patton vows to spend the rest of his term "to make Kentucky a better place for our people."

But political observers say the Democratic governor, once considered a tough challenger for Republican U.S. Sen. Jim Bunning in 2004, may have seriously hurt his chances of winning another election.

Patton still can salvage his administration, said Paul Blanchard, director of the Center for Kentucky History and Politics at Eastern Kentucky University. But a statewide race against Bunning would be difficult, he said.

"If he finishes his term successfully, he still could run for the Senate. But it would be tough. His credibility certainly will be an issue, and I'm sure family values would come up in such a race with Bunning."

National political expert Larry Sabato was more definitive about Patton's chances against Bunning.

"That's over with," he said. "He could still run, but he'll lose. The Democrats need to move on and find a clean nominee."

Sabato, a political science professor who heads the University of Virginia Center for Politics, said that candidates frequently try to put past disgraces behind them in a new campaign, but "they never get to the current issues because the past scandal continues to haunt them.

"There'll be more digging, there'll be other revelations," he said. "It's a mess."

Patton's fellow Democrats generally have rallied around their leader, but key Republican leaders mostly have opted to stay silent about the scandal.