If only Tom Clancy could re-write this story...

Jack Ryan, Republican candidate from the U.S. Senate from Illinois, already was far behind Democrat Barrack Obama. Now, though, unsealed papers from Ryan's divorce from actress Jeri Ryan (aka 'Seven of Nine') may have eliminated any chance of his catching up. Ryan had told Illinois GOP leaders that the papers contained nothing his candidacy couldn't survive. Now, those leaders are accusing Ryan of having misled them as to the potential damage his dirty laundry could do his candidacy.

At this point, only the unlikely substitution of immensely popular former Governor Jim Edgar for Ryan seems likely to even make this race competitive. A pity, too; what looked like a matchup between two strong, articulate candidates capable of an exemplary debate on the issues of the day has degenerated into a dirty joke.