What do politicians owe us as it relates to their personal lives?

Lt. Gov. Barbara Lawton certainly made that a big question this week when she abruptly dropped out of next year's governor's race, calling it a "very personal decision."

Here is the big issue I don't understand. What changed between Aug. 17, when Gov. Jim Doyle announced he wouldn't run and she announced she would, and Monday, when she dropped out?

Because it has been clear for years she wanted to be governor, and because her announcement to drop out was so abrupt, isn't it logical to think there was one big issue that changed her mind?

Wouldn't she be better off coming out with specifics now? While I don't advocate lying, couldn't she just have said that she didn't have the drive to go through a long campaign? That it would adversely affect her family life?

No. It's just the nebulous "personal decision." It leaves too many questions.

So of course, we are left to speculate. And rarely does speculation focus on positive possibilities.

She told The Associated Press that the decision to end the campaign was reached with her husband, two adult children and other family members.

Did she not have a discussion with them before she entered the race?

If she did, then there must have been some revelation that completely changed her point of view between now and then.

If she didn't discuss with her family what such a run would mean before she declared, which I find hard to believe, it would show incredibly poor judgment.

And make no mistake - it was clear to most observers she wanted to be governor and has wanted to be for many years.

She's been sitting and waiting since 2002 for Doyle - someone with whom she doesn't seem to have the warmest relationship - to leave office.

Becoming Wisconsin's first female governor had to be an extra incentive for her.

The day he announced in August he wasn't running again, she said she was. Makes sense. Declare right away, keep other Democrats from getting into the race.

She had the nomination sewn up. No other Democrats had announced they would run, and it looked unlikely any would.

She had been fundraising, and although numbers haven't been released, she said the reason she dropped out wasn't money.

Illness? No, she said she was fine.

Pressure from the White House? Did the Obama administration want someone they perceived as a stronger candidate (presumably Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, who had a big lead on her in a September Wisconsin Policy Research Institute/UW Political Science Study)? She said no, no one from the Obama administration had contacted her.

Trouble with her marriage? Nope. She called such speculation the "grossest rumors" because she just celebrated her 36th anniversary.

So suddenly, she's just done. At age 58, she told the AP another campaign is unlikely.

Is she going to give back all the money she raised under the assumption she would need it for a long battle for the governor's seat?

When the gubernatorial front-runner, or at least the presumptive Democratic candidate in a state with two Democratic U.S. senators, a Democratic governor, and a Democratic state Legislature, drops out of the race, what does she expect from residents?

Should we sit back and say, "Oh, well, that seems reasonable"?

It's not human nature. And it's not fair to the state of Wisconsin, whether you support her or not. She's still the lieutenant governor, let's not forget.

If the reasons are so serious for her not running, should she resign as lieutenant governor?

Is it so embarrassing she can't even say it?

Is there some scandal that will bring shame to the state?

Apparently, stepping down is not on the horizon.

"I'm very grateful to the people who helped and were supportive, and I'm very excited about the next 14 months as I am free from the time of the campaign to serve out my term with great vigor," she said.

It was odd that her announcement came via a brief three-paragraph e-mail to supporters, which also was posted on her campaign Web site Monday.

And then she did not speak publicly all day Monday. Her Capitol office was closed. Her campaign staff did not return phone calls to the AP.

"I actually don't want to comment further on it. ... I'm proud of what we did, and I'm disappointed to end it and I'm excited about life ahead," she told the AP on Tuesday.

She probably isn't going to have that luxury. The truth eventually will come out. She might as well announce the reason on her terms. The media won't let her fade away without an answer.

And rightfully so. We deserve an answer.

She asked Wisconsin's 3.4 million registered voters to support her. Is it too much for us to ask her why all of a sudden we shouldn't?

Is it too much for her to answer?

Jason Maddux is the editor of the Daily Register. Reach him at jmaddux@capitalnewspapers.com or 745-3517.