One thing about the Marc Dann scandal is crystal clear: Nothing good can possibly come from three middle-aged guys from the Youngstown area sharing a condo in suburban Columbus. Maybe, instead of worrying about saving on rent, Ohio's attorney general should have been more concerned about safeguarding his reputation. (He now shares a Columbus apartment with his oldest daughter.)

Less clear is how the scandal plays out. Having apologized for having an extramarital affair with a staffer and cleaned house of top aides accused of sexual harassment (by other female staffers), failing to stop it or attempting to cover it up, Dann is determined to continue in office despite a chorus of calls from the highest levels of his own Democratic Party to resign.

Democrats wanted him out by this past Monday or they would move to impeach him. Dann admits only to cronyism (hiring a buddy, Anthony Gutierrez, the one charged with sexual harassment) and being way too lax as a supervisor.

Let's leave the impeachment process, which would take the cooperation of a Republican-dominated legislature, aside, for just a moment. What does Dann himself have to do to survive?

Judging from his comments during an interview this week, the pathway is narrow. There must be no further revelations about condo-gate. Dann says everything to know about his involvement is known. If anything more develops, as some suspect it will, any hope of repairing the damage will evaporate, even if it doesn't rise to the level of an impeachable offense. Dann would have to quit.

The challenge going forward is to use the AG's office to generate positive publicity by going after bad guys such as polluters and payday lenders. These priorities are now Dann's salvation, not cleaning up what he used to call ''a culture of corruption.''

Given his own conduct, Dann's days of crusading on ethics are over. Still, other crusades might work, provided he doesn't impale himself on his own lance.

While there is evidence Dann can outline the right priorities as the state's top lawyer, the evidence that he can run an office capable of pursuing them is, well, mixed.

Even murkier is the political atmosphere surrounding the impeachment process. Having dropped the bomb, Democratic leaders such as Gov. Ted Strickland, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown and Ohio Democratic Party Chairman Chris Redfern have no choice but to plow ahead.

Some, among them consultant Gerald Austin, note that Strickland and Brown, while U.S. House members, voted against impeaching President Clinton.

For their part, Republicans have reacted cautiously. Having expressed such outrage, Democrats need to move fast, getting Dann out of Columbus before the scandal damages plans for the fall, when the party hopes to deliver Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama to the White House and take control of the Ohio House.

By moving deliberately, Republicans can prolong the Democrats' agony all the way until November, all the while appearing to be so thoughtful.

Remember, Dann hasn't been charged with a crime. Nobody has offered hard evidence his office has done anything like tank a case for a campaign contributor.

Besides, nothing like this has been tried in Ohio since the 1800s, so whatever standard is devised will set strong precedent. If the bar for articles of impeachment is set too low, Ohio could find itself bogged down in impeachment wars.

Rather than resign to save the party from himself, it may turn out that Dann will eventually step down to save Democrats from themselves. What an irony that would be.

In this scenario, the date of Sept. 24 looms large. If Dann were to leave office after that, Strickland would appoint someone to fill out his term and, presumably, run in 2010. If Dann quit on or before Sept. 24, a temporary replacement would be made and there would be a special election Nov. 4.

Do Ohio Democrats really want to find a candidate and run a statewide race for the attorney general's office (with Republicans reminding everybody how badly the last Democrat screwed up) at the same time they are trying to win control of the Ohio House and win the state for Obama or Clinton? They apparently do, fearing the backlash of the Dann scandal would be worse.

But, maybe, Dann could hang on through September, repair his image and give Strickland the appointment for the balance of the term, avoiding a special election. That might be as close to a win-win situation as there is for Dann and the Democrats.