Lynne Cheney, the wife of Vice President Dick Cheney and a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, told Fox News (which we learned from the Associated Press) that Republicans paid a price -- "a terrible price" -- in the 2006 elections for the ethics scandals that plagued the party:

Asked about the Democratic takeover of the House and Senate in the midterm elections, Mrs. Cheney said scandals cost the GOP many votes.

"I think Iraq was part of it, but I also think that you had some extraordinary ethical failures," she said. "They were bipartisan, but I do think the Republicans paid a great price for that."

She noted the cases of former Republican congressman Mark Foley, who resigned over sexually explicit messages sent to male pages, and Randy Cunningham, who pleaded guilty to accepting bribes from defense contractors.

"I think those exacted a terrible price," she said.