By now, it’s clear even to U.S. Sen. John Ensign that he’s going to get every square nanometer of his ass kicked in November, as Democrats gain a clear majority in the Senate and are finally able to kick Joe Lieberman to the curb. (Even U.S. Sen. Harry Reid — who always says the nicest things about the worst people — will finally have an answer to his question, “why would I want throw away a good vote?” Answer: Because you won’t need it anymore!)

Anyway, back to Ensign, who was complaining recently that none of his fellow Republican senators gave the GOP’s Senate campaign committee any money, and gee he’s going to have to cut back on advertising now and isn’t that a shame?

“It has become clear that my call [for money] has gone largely unanswered,” Ensign said. “I have had no choice but to decrease the total budget of our [independent expenditure] unit.”

And more: “It is still my hope that my Republican colleagues will engage in this election and help match what the Democrats are doing. If they do, I will adjust our budget accordingly,” he added.

Now, on one level this is unsurprising — nobody really takes Ensign seriously, except on fields of athletic endeavor. His well-coiffed noggin is simply chalk full of Republican talking points and pseudo-religious laugh lines, so taking him seriously would be like have a conversation with one of those dolls that speaks when you pull a string in its back.

But on another level this is truly disappointing, inasmuch as it represents Ensign’s ongoing efforts to shift the blame from the monumental 2008 ass-kicking he’s about to receive. He’s saying — implicitly — that if (and when) Republicans lose, it’s not his fault. It’s the fault of his cheap-ass colleagues, who apparently can still tell the difference between the fantasy of a Republican majority and the cold, hard reality of actually getting one.

The sad fact remains, it is Ensign’s fault. Didn’t he agree in good faith to take the job? Didn’t the Republicans reward him for taking on this thankless task (i.e. a seat on the Senate Finance Committee)? And isn’t his responsibility to persuade his colleagues to give to the cause? And if he can’t convince fellow Republican senators to support the GOP majority project, how in the hell does he ever expect to persuade, say, independent voters or Democrats to his side? And that, with this implicit admission that he’s unable to do so, isn’t the final and exclusive conclusion that John Ensign is a hopeless failure as a politician, while remaining slightly above average as a scratch golfer?

We think it is. But the good news is this: If Ensign quits the Senate soon, say in the next couple weeks, and hits the links hard every single day for about 10 years, he’ll be perfectly positioned for the PGA’s senior tour, where the most harm he can do to the country is to fail to replace his divots.

But who knows? Maybe he’s waiting to see if U.S. Sen. John McCain might still pick him for vice president. Or still hoping for some other undeserved leadership position?