Mark Sanford’s Excellent Adventure [Make That ‘Affair’]
When news broke Monday afternoon that South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford went off the grid the previous Thursday and that neither his wife nor his staff knew where they were, I was interested but not particularly motivated to write about it. It was essentially a gossip story that would have been purely speculative and there was the chance that something tragic had happened and I’d have felt like a real jerk for wisecracking about it.
Soon, the story evolved into Sanford’s having gone off to hike the Appalachian Trail with some weird, unsourced rumors that he was doing so bereft of clothing. I continued largely ignoring the story.
Well, now that he is back on the grid — purportedly after a solo trip to the densely urban Buenos Aires for an exotic drive down the coastline — and has announced a press conference for this afternoon, I’m compelled to write something.
I’ve seen suggestions on Twitter and elsewhere that this is a liberal mainstream media hounding a conservative Republican widely considered a viable contender for the 2012 presidential nomination. Sorry, folks: This is real news.
I share Annie Lowrey‘s assessment that the story is “bizarre” and that Sanford’s actions were “so vastly irresponsible — not just weird, but irresponsible — for a major public official to do that, in my mind, it disqualifies him for the job.” I also echo Steven Taylor‘s judgment that “I have no problem if a governor or other public official wants a vacation. If his family is okay with the notion of him going off by himself without contact, that’s their business, although I personally find that odd. However, if one holds an office of public trust, especially a chief executive position, then one should make arrangements for one’s absence, even if it is done in a way as to avoid media attention. To do otherwise strikes me as irresponsible.”
“Bizarre. Weird. Irresponsible.” That’s not exactly an ideal campaign slogan.
See also: “The Missing Governor: A Timeline” at TPM. and “Mark Sanford’s press conference: A viewer’s guide” at Politico.
UPDATE: Ugh. It gets much worse: Add “Adulterer” to the tagline.
Gov. Mark Sanford says he is publicly apologizing for letting down South Carolinians after admitting he was having an affair during a press conference at the statehouse in Columbia Wednesday. Apologizing to his wife, sons and all of South Carolina, Sanford says he has engaged in a relationship with a “dear friend” from Argentina.
Sanford confessed the relationship between him and the unidentified woman began very innocently through emails, and says over the past year developed into much more than a simple friendship. Since the development of the relationship, Sanford says he has seen the woman three times.
“I hurt you all, I hurt my wife, I hurt my boys,” said Sanford, with tears in his eyes. “All I can say is ‘I apologize.'”
Sanford says his family has been struggling with his unfaithfulness for the last five months, noting his wife, Jenny Sanford, and sons knew about his trip to Argentina before he left the country. “I’ve spent the last five days crying in Argentina,” said Sanford. Despite his unfaithfulness, Sanford stands by his relationship with his wife, saying they are not “formally separate,” but are rather trying to “work through something.”
Sanford also noted during the Wednesday’s press conference he will be stepping down as the chairman of the Republican Governor’s Association.
John Hawkins offers the unsolicited advice that he might as well step down as governor while he’s at it. He adds, “Sanford was a rising star in the Republican party and it was really sad to see him throw away his promising political career this way.”
Indeed. I’d add: At least we’re finding out now rather than in the midst of the presidential race.
Not to mention his excuse – he finds the state legislative session so taxing that he has to go off the grid for a while afterwards. That doesn’t sound like somebody who’s up to handling the stresses of the presidency.
I heard no such rumors, but it is true that last Sunday (the first day of summer) was Naked Hiking Day.
Then you weren’t listening in the right places.
I think it is bizarre behavior.
I can see wanting a vacation after a legislative session. I can see wanting a vacation period. I don’t get taking off and not letting people know where you have gone as a responsible move-especially when one is in charge of a state as it’s chief executive.
Shoot when my husband was in the Navy he had to tell his chain of command where he was going and how he could be reached in order for him to take any kind of leave. i would expect at least that much from a governor.
Wow…potential 2012 GOP presidential candidates really are dropping like flies…
I’ll point out the historical fact that Teddy R used to go off grid rather a lot, while president. You may notice we survived it.
OTOH, we weren’t so totally dependant on government, either.
Well he just said “and all of those things were true” which presumably divides the true part of his statement from the subsequent B.S.
I don’t mind the guy taking a weeklong vacation. Even not telling the press. Not telling his family? His staff? That’s just nuts.
He had an affair with a woman in Argentina. Saying he went down there to bring things off w/her and that his family knew about the whole affair.
Uh, …. Must be the season for Republican wickdippery.
Bill Clinton is sitting somewhere chuckling right now…
An affair? I was predicting a divorce announcement, but with the wife wearing the letter A. How come it’s always the guy screwing up?
Wait a minute … he didn’t resign the governorship? He acted with profound irresponsibility with respect to his duty to his state and its citizens by disappearing without warning into a foreign country to conduct a tryst with a woman he met on the Internet. This guy has no business being a state executive.
I must admit it’s been amusing watching so many so-called 2012 contenders flame out this far in advance. Maybe Sanford, Jindal, et al can form some kind of support group.
I suspect they were covering for the guy, somehow. Just a gut feeling at the moment.
Yeah, but in TR’s time the responsibilities and speed of problems emerging was a lot slower. You tend to get that in a world where the fastest means of communication is the telegraph and telephone, and the fastest means of transportation is a 60-70 MPH train ride.
Somehow, he managed to meet the Argentinian chick three times before now without getting caught. How did he manage to mess it up this time? If he simply couldn’t stand being without her anymore, and flew off impulsively to Argentina, then we can add “impulsive” to his other bad characteristics.
We should not allow Republicans to marry. It undercuts the entire institution of marriage.
For that matter, why did he need to take a big secret trip to end it with her? I almost wondering if his Argentinian mistress was blackmailing him, and he went down there with money to talk her out of releasing the information.
Break-up sex?
I’m sorry. The above is considered serious commentary?
I have to mention that the impeached Illinois Governor used to go off grid a lot as well, but he was generally just at home in his pajamas with his family hiding from work.
…
Heh. there ya go.
With the exception of a nuke attack, things still move the same speed, for the most part. And the office of Govenor of any state I can think of has never needed to make a split second decision. Sorry, they’re just not that important on that kind of notice. The difference here is that we’ve gotten used to the father figure… or rather, the big brother figure.
Excellent point. Her, or someone else. Indeed, I suspect there’s more here than we’re being told. A few in here have gone gloat about how many GOP presidential canidates are “falling like flies”.
But wait a tick… All since January? Are they suddenly extra randy because the Democrats are in office? Funny how nobody ever noticed it before that point. Or is there something deeper going on, here? And doesn’t anyone get the feeling the press is being rather gleeful about the way this is fire is getting fanned up?
I’d agree, if that were the case, but I doubt that’s what happened here.
Heh… Yeah, I thought of that, too, but decided it was a bit clumsy in context. Don’t blame you for using it, though.
Fannyed up, you mean. Look, none of this would be of any real interest save for his denunciations of Clinton, being prominent member of the party of “Family Values”, and his invocation of God’s laws, etc. These weepy post-letting-the-little-head-think-for-the-big-head press conferences by stalwarts of the Party of God in the U S of A make for great political theatre.
OMG! Conspiracy Alert! Conspiracy Alert! Code Red! Code Red! Somebody get Drudge on the case…
To be fair, potential 2012 GOP presidential candidates are about as numerous as flies at the moment.
Again, to be fair, there was significantly less “grid” for Teddy to be “off” of.
This whole episode is nothing but a creation of the liberal media.
Liberals are talking like Sanford’s vacation is going to bring down the Republic.
It is not like this guy is President or head of CENTCOM. He’s the fricking governor of SOUTH CAROLINA–a pissant backwater that contributes essentially nothing to the country. Its not like he’s in charge of somewhere important like New York or California.
Maybe a couple of hicks from Clemson can’t get their drivers license renewed with Sanford out of town; but for everyone else in America, this is a non-story.
The liberals are just trying to make a mountain out of a molehill.
Triumph, nor is it like he is the Governor of Alaska, somebody on the front line of our nation’s security. Honestly, I think the day-to-day command and control aspects of the governorships are being overstated, no doubt by “Governors who want to be President.” I think it’s good executive experience, but I think we’re going a bit too far here.
Except for Alaska, and maybe Hawaii.
The wife speaks:
I’d pick what the wife says over what the cheating governor says.
Sure. 9.11 is a good example of that brilliant theory.
Nice rent. I.e., meanwhile, have made no accusations as yet. But you tell me; does it strike you as even close to reasonable that all of this will be happening in just that period of time between now and last January the 20th?
Coincidence it may be, but frankly I think it stretches credibility just a little.
OK, Anijn… you tell us; who was governor New York at the time? What did he do on the morning of 911 that was so vitally important?
Let’s be realistic – if she is smoking hot then he should get a free pass – Clinton’s problem was that Monica was nasty. Let’s not intellectualize this too much.
Answering the question, “Did Eric take his meds today?”
Only to the paranoid…
“With the exception of a nuke attack, things still move the same speed, for the most part. And the office of Govenor of any state I can think of has never needed to make a split second decision. Sorry, they’re just not that important on that kind of notice.”
May we quote you when it comes time for the next election and Republicans insist that you need someone with that Governor executive experience? Good to know that states function just fine with their Governor gone. The job really isnt that important after all. Just a Bog Brother kind of thing.
Steve
Bit, displaying his usual ward behavior, writes:
An SC newspaper had been sitting on the guv’s and his paramour’s emails since last December. From what I heard of them, he can try his hand at bodice-ripping novels when he exits the governor’s mansion.
Oh, I dunno. Can we look to the Democrats and their “Who do you want answering the phone at 3am” ads, given that both Clinton and Obama have been epic failures on that score? Obama had no executive experience, and Clinton, in truth had onone either, unless you really take her claim “we are the president” seriously. So, what’s it gonna be?
Well, exactly. So why were they sitting on them, we wonders, yes, we wonders?
The word ‘distraction’ leaps to mind.
Has it occurred to anyone here that Eric Florack is actually an elaborate prank? Ask yourselves: could a real person be that obtuse, paranoid and ridiculous? Is it not more likely that he is one of Howard Stern’s Wack Pack?
A lame dodge, even from you. I never claimed Pataki did anything vital, though a Governors place is at his desk, earning his paycheck, espeically in an emergency.
The point is that your claim that besides a nuke attack, things move pretty much at the same pace as in TR’s time is obvious nonsense. Things today move at supersonic speed, at internet speed, not at horse & buggy speed.
That dunce cap looks pretty good on you bit, must be the comfort level that comes from so many years of nonstop use.
I don’t suppose that anyone has thought to ask where those emails came from that the newspaper got? Granted, that they are genuine given the reaction of the Governor. But how did they come into the hands of the newspaper, I wonder?
Where the parties involved here? It doesn’t strike me as something that the wife would have done, for example. I’m somewhat less sure that the woman Argentina would have been doing it. A staffer, from the governor’s office, perhaps?
And again, comes the question of why the paper was sitting on the story for so long. Say what you will about Sanford, I will likely agree. But it strikes me that the way this came into public knowledge smells of orchestration. A means of maximizing political impact.
The point, Anjin, that you were responding to was my claim that The governor simply isn’t that heartstoppingly important , even an emergency situation. Your response is itself a dodge, because you can’t offer anything to come to my point. Not that anyone should be surprised.
Whether or not the Governor of South Carolina, or any Governor is important isn’t the issue. The issue is that this guy is a scumbag and should lose his job for being irresponsible. Even if we didn’t know the reason for his “trip”, people can’t just go do whatever they want and keep their jobs. Normal people would lose their job for doing that, and this creep shouldn’t be an exception.
I’m pretty sure that most people could put in for a week’s vacation, tell their coworkers they are going hiking, then fly to Argentina to end an affair, without getting fired.
He used to go under the pseudonym “Bithead”, and no, he seriously believes what he’s saying.
Yeah, lets kill the messenger, good idea.
Right, because it was such a low-key story until those emails broke. If this had broken while Stanford was still in town, it wouldn’t have nearly the impact. I mean, just look at how easy Spitzer had it. Oh wait.
I agree Michael, if it happened the way you described, it would probably be fine but that wasn’t the impression I got from the news reports.
Well, if I recall correctly, the redistribution of emails is a felony. We’re going to excuse this crime why, again? Because it Revealed what might be considered a bigger drime? What was that bigger crime? A dalience with woman not his wife? Yeah, that seems like it’s justified, huh? There are occasions when breaking the law can serve a higher purpose of the law. Speeding toa hospital for example. Do you really consider this situation to rise to that level?
Your comments about Spitzer make the point well, but reinforce what I’m saying as well. there was a huge silence from the usual suspects on the left in that case, if you don’t recall. And there wasn’t, to my understanding, any laws broken in revealing Spitzer’s misdeeds, either, as there is in this case.
Here in SC, Gov. Sanford has a _lot_ of enemies in the state legislature, which is heavily Republican-dominated. He also doesn’t seem to be particularly well-liked within the population, which is also heavily Republican. Chances are good that any leaked emails were leaked by his fellow Republicans.
As to the implication that there’s some White House/Democratic conspiracy to discredit Gov. Sanford, all I’ll say is that, if I were advising Pres. Obama, I would be champing at the bit for a chance to run against an ultraconservative Southern Governor from a Deep South state.
As I’ve said elsewhere, that’s a possibility which shouldn’t be overlooked, Rick. Then again, such a situation would surely benefit Democrats if investigated. So, I’m a little surpised we’ve not seen any calls for investigation of the felony yet.
OTOH, it’s not my expereince that Republicans are not able, generally, to start a feeding frenzy quite so easily as someone apparently did here.
Look bit, there is no need to carry on so. You are a “conservative”, so a top government employee being off cheating on his wife and disgracing his family when he should be actually earning the paycheck he draws is not a big dial to you. GOP family values indeed.
I think he could still probably try and make a serious go at the 2012 Republican nod. It’s only halfway through 2009 – none of the contenders have even formed exploratory committees yet.
He’s probably got a year to a year and a half to make good.
I’m sorry, is this supposed to be a serious commentary, or are you just being your normal self?
I dunno. I’ve been doing some thinking on that question myself, and I conclude that the question we should first ask is if he had a hope in hell of beating the rest of the field absent this incident… and frankly, I don’t think so. With it, it’s more certain he won’t. He may try, but I don’t think he will, and further, I think he won’t get through the nomination process if he does try.
Myself, as I’ve said, I think he’s toast, and rightly so.
You mean like you going on (and on, and on…) about black helicoptors while giving Sanford a pass? That kind of serious bitsy?
Oh, you mean like Haley Barbour? OMG! Maybe it was a conspiracy after all…
Giving Sanford a pass, say you?
Huh.
You must have missed the part where I said….
And the part where I said…
…and where I said…
How in the blink is that supposed to be giving Sanford ‘a pass’? I’ll be kind, and assume you couldn’t possibly be this much of an idiot natually, rather chosing to be so by intent.
Since you seem to need all the clues you can get, Anjin, you may want to look at the comments on the Hawkins piece James linked.
Oops. Not that Hawkins piece… this one.
Bit you are not under the impression that I actually, you know, pay any attention to what you say? Life is far too short skippy…
So, you admit that when you made the comment you really didn’t know what you were talking about, and were spouting just to spout simply because it matched your twisted worldview.
(shake of the head)
I take it back… You really are that much of an idiot, naturally. My apoligies for having under-estimated you so seriously.
No, I admit that I was just messing with you, and that I do not think anything you have to say merits a careful reading. Do try not to get so shrill & hysterical bitsy, it is little unmanly.
But you are right my world view is twisted, by your standards.
I think if someone is elected to a position of public trust, they should faithfully execute the duties of the office they hold. I think that if you are drawing a paycheck, you should make damn sure you are earning it. I think if you are unhappy enough in your marriage to have an affair, you should play it straight, get a divorce and not disgrace your family.
Holding these views you consider to be so twisted, I obviously could never be what passes for a “conservative” today…
Then why the hell are you even holding a conversation with him?
Why the hell do you care? We have had this discussion. Buzz off.
And at what point have I indicated otherwise?
You’ve lost it, pal. Do all of us a favor, particularly yourself; Find help at once.
You are the one going on about my “twisted” world view. I shared a little bit of that view. Now, you say you agree with me. Your story tends to change almost moment by moment there sonny.
You need to inject some “serious” into your serious commentary.
So, on those rare occasions when you’re correct on a point or two, I’m to be held in agreement with your entire worldview? Yeah, that makes sense, doesn’t it?
An interesting comment, given that you’ve just admitted to everybody in the room that you don’t read what’s written anyway. Why should anyone ever take you seriously?
Well, just today, you have said I am twisted, an idiot, and I am in need of immediate help. So it seems a bit odd that you should be nodding your head as I state some of my core beliefs. As always, the expedience of the moment is what drives you.
I don’t give a rats ass if anybody here takes me seriously, I do this pretty much for fun. Perhaps someday I will write a serious post, and you can judge for yourself what I am actually about. I do a lot of writing professionally, so I think I have some game.
The difference between you is that you are obviously pretty desperate to be taken seriously.
Oh, and I do read some of the contributors and posters in here very carefully. You are a fairly bright guy bit, try writing something that is not dogmatic nonsense and I will pay more attention.
We should have another music post! Just added a Cary CDP-1 CD player and a Pathos Classic One Amp to my system. Van Morrison is sounding very good tonight…
Your status already was deep in irrelevancy. You just slammed the door behind you.
(Click)
Hmm. Sort of reminds me of the time I got dumped by a girl I did not really like 🙂