Gov. Jim Gibbons smiled when the judge presiding over what promised to be a salacious and sensational four-day divorce trial asked if Gibbons' settlement with the first lady was fair and equitable.

"Yes," the first-term Republican finally managed to utter, as if biting his tongue.

It may be fair, but the divorce decree ending his 23-year marriage to Dawn Gibbons _ the first for a sitting governor in Nevada _ is unlikely to undo all the political damage that motivated the former congressman to pay more alimony than he wanted and sell the ranch where he hoped to retire.

The deal reached Monday, however, does avoid a messy public trial filled with allegations of infidelity, name-calling and mean-spirited attacks.

"I'm not going to talk about the divorce," Gibbons, 65, told The Associated Press after his court hearing Monday in the self-proclaimed "Divorce Capital of the World."

"Put it down as no comment," he said.

Erik Herzik, political science professor at the University of Nevada, Reno, said the 11th hour settlement still may have come too late.

"It is a positive just by avoiding a negative," Herzik said. "Whether he rebounds from this is an open question. A great deal of damage has already been done and has been reported on for over a year."

A recent poll conducted for the Las Vegas Review-Journal said Gibbons' approval rating rose to 19 percent in December after falling into single-digits last summer.

He already faces at least two challengers in a GOP primary set for June 8 _ former U.S. District Judge Brian Sandoval and former North Las Vegas Mayor Mike Montandon. Rory Reid, the son of U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, is running for the office as a Democrat.

"He can now focus his energies on re-election, but the memory and opinions about his personal situation aren't going to immediately go away," Herzik said. "Nevada likely is more forgiving than some states like Utah. But it still is not a case of no fault, no repercussion."

Dawn Gibbons said after the hearing that she would keep her married name but relinquish her responsibilities as first lady in the coming weeks.

"I've been honored to be first lady for three years," said the 55-year-old former state legislator, an unsuccessful candidate for her husband's former congressional seat who owned a pair of Reno wedding chapels. "I did not want to do anything that would dishonor my state. The agreement reflects that."