When Governor Jim Gibbons (R-NV) was photographed in a parking lot, arms around a female companion, his reply was that he was merely comforting a friend. "She was upset, crying," he told the Nevada Appeal, who published the pictures on Friday. "She couldn't catch her breath. I put my arms around her."

But earlier that same week, the Governor had given greater color to his relationship with the woman, a former Playboy model and ex-wife of a former Reno mayor, whose hand he held while she was giving birth. From the Las Vegas Sun:

"You know what, I've know Leslie for 20 plus years. In fact, Leslie is a wonderful dear friend and if they are implying there is anything romantic there, they are wrong.

"She is helping me get through a very troubling time in my life by being a friend. What troubles me is all these people speculating every time I bump into somebody that happens to be of the opposite sex. You can talk to Leslie, but I think she will tell you if (there's something that) takes the romance out of a friendship it's being there when her child is born. I held her hand when her child was born.

"That's how close a friend we are."

And now that the Governor has explained that nothing turns him off quite like childbirth, he'd like to get back to work, please:

Asked if this was romance, he replied, "Absolutely not."

"I put my arm around her shoulder. I was talking to her. I had to get close because I had to get over the noise of the crowd."

Asked about the photographs, he replied, "I think this is about my private life. I'm focusing on balancing the budget. I think this is such nonsense. The public wants to know what we're doing to preserve and protect the people of the state of Nevada."