Kind of shocking – a Republican in an affair scandal that actually resigns? He certainly isn’t a typical Republican like David Vitter, John Ensign or Mark Sanford:

Indiana congressman Mark Souder (R) will resign his seat after an affair with a staffer came to light, he said in a statement this morning.

“It is with great regret I announce that I am resigning from the U.S. House of Representatives as well as resigning as the Republican nominee for Congress in this fall’s election,” said Souder.

“I sinned against God, my wife and my family by having a mutual relationship with a part time member of my staff,” added Souder. “I am so shamed to have hurt those I love.”

And I got a feeling that the Republican establishment is going to be extra pissed at this guy:

The revelations regarding Souder come two weeks after he survived a serious primary challenge from car dealer Bob Thomas who spent considerable sums of his own money on the race. Souder won the primary with less than 50 percent of the vote.

Exit question – will the media spend as much time grueling over this affair as they did with the Eric Massa debacle? I doubt it.

UPDATE:

OMG this just gets priceless. Tracy Jackson, the staffer with whom Souder had the affair, played a role of “interviewer” in a web video released by Souder on the importance of abstinence education.

That loud roar you just heard – well that’s the sound of comedy writers cheering that they have such an easy work day now. The jokes have already been written.

UPDATE 2

On cue, here’s Drudge

It’s interesting how Drudge adds that Female, complete inside of brackets. Really, it wouldn’t look so obvious if it read something like “Republican Congressman Resigns After Affair w/ Female Staffer”, but to put it in like an afterthought like that makes it really interesting.