What ?! A dishonest and horny politician?! I'm shocked.

So what! Look at Clinton. If a guy wants to distroy his marriage it's not my business.

This is big news? We hear about politicians cheating on their wives all the time. It goes back to the late 1700's (Thomas Jefferson w/ Sally Hemmings).

Update: I think Mark Sanford should be a travel agent. Since this story came out. He's been on two out of state 'family' vacations, and now he is on a two week undisclosed European family vacation. What a fuck this guy is!

I think the Mark Sanford affair is actually significant in a number of ways. This story made me upset in that SC is probably the worst state economy-wise, and this guy is partying in Argentina (I support the Falklands by the way). I'm going to try to stay away from party politics because I think both parties suck equally, and it seems that plenty of SC Republicans hate him anyway. But here is a guy who is a complete douche. For example, he's never in South Carolina, period. It never seemed like that to me but in reading more about him....Sanford seems to be in every state/country but South Carolina. He doesn't feel he should disclose information to the people of his state. We elect these idiots in, and they don't feel they are accountable to us.

Additionally, Sanford practically talked everybody's ear off about how bad the stimulus was and saying how he wouldn't accept the funds. That's just putting party politics ahead of anything else. I hated the stimulus bill but it passed, so just take it. If it had McCain's name on the stimulus, Sanford would've salivated over those funds. The guy is a douche a-la Eliot Spitzer. Personally, I think he should resign based on the sole fact of letting South Carolinians down, in addition to lying to his own staff thereby lying to the people of SC. Sanford would rather be in South American than South Carolina. Don't expect Sanford to resign though....he's pretty hard-headed. What a dumb fuck this guy is.

Update:

If there is anyone in America who should be giving thanks for the death of Michael Jackson, its this guy. In the week leading up to Jackson's death, Sanford looked to be on his way to kissing canvas and losing his gubernatorial job. With the three week and counting orgy of nonsense over Jackson dominating the news cycles, Sanford's peccadillos are all but forgotten on the national scene. I can't speak for the current attention given him in South Carolina, but this scandal is a spent firecracker now.


Original Review:

I'm long past the stage where a politician getting a little on the side shocks me. When I worked in the business, I even facilitated it a couple of times. As far as I'm concerned, who a politician has sex with is between them, their spouse and the other person. Its no business of anyone else, and does nothing to impair their ability to do their job. This is no exception, but once again its going to screw someones career.

Damn, I dislike puritans.

feel sorry for his wife and kids for going through a public humiliation. othewise there are so many things in my life I think way more about. just don't care.

This is about as important as anything that happens in South Carolina.

That said, this guy is giving press conferences where he's calling his mistress his "soulmate."

Doesn't he have any respect for his wife? His children?

A politician who messes around on his wife? Why I never...

Well...his affair is insignificant to me and should be to the people of South Carolina. What is significant is that the governor of a state would disappear without notifying those he works with. That was the real lapse of judgment in terms of how he serves the public, and I have no problem with anybody questioning his ability to serve as governor because of it.

Well-in San Antonio our Argentinians play basketball and not sleep with the governor...anyway, with all that's going on this story has gotten boring, but, it's funny now that people are finding out that Republicans can be just as guilty as this sort of amorous behavior as Democrats like Bill Clinton were
and most of them are hypocrites, I mean, Sarah Palin, her unmarried teen daughter had a baby, other Republicans have had affairs-then they all go about talking about morality like some sort of preacher, their words-or the words of any politician nowadays-doesn't have any credibility.

Not huge in the broader scheme of things, but I suspect this means that he will no longer be a candidate in 2012 for the Presidency.

Do we yet know why he disappeared from all sight for about a week? First he was "hiking in the Appalachian Mountains", then he comes out and admits that he was actually in Argentina? The whole story sounds strange to me.

UPDATE: I didn't want to reveal my suspicions a few days ago, as I don't like to engage in slander, but it turns out that he was visiting a woman he was having an affair with in Argentina. Turns out he was in the late stages of a plan to leave his wife for this woman. Sounds like he's infatuated with her and didn't consider all the implications of doing that. These are the kinds of actions that have consequences. He definitely needs to pray and meditate about this before making the right decision.

I believe I heard earlier that he did indeed use state funds on trips to visit his mistress. This will obviously make it more difficult for him to stay in office.

A lot of political people have claimed in the past that Sanford is a strange character, but this story stinks to high heaven if you ask me.

The media seems to be painting this as part of a broader crisis within the GOP. The NY Times, the Washington Post, and the Miami Herald all have headline articles discussing this, along with the recent affair of Sen. John Ensign as part of a broader moral crisis gripping the GOP. I tend to think that this is a gross exaggeration. The party's problems run a bit deeper. Just because two of their politicians were caught in extramarital affairs doesn't mean anything. The party's fate remains the same.

How exactly does this set him apart from a great number of his colleagues in elected office? Arrogance and bad judgement are character flaws that are fairly common. I'm sure that ancient cynic guy who walked the streets of Greece with a lantern searching for an honest man would have had as much luck in South Carolina as he would have in New York or Quebec.

Unless he paid for personal use of hotels, hookers or heroin on his Governor of South Carolina Amex Card I can't imagine why the voters of South Carolina deserve a shot at him over his wife and kids.

The angle that he left the state without putting someone in command is such a trumped up charge that it's laughable. Staff were some how able to get him to come home a day early to face the music. I suspect the citizens of South Caroline and their civic leaders widely avail themselves of the recent advances in communications technology that the rest of the country is using. I even know someone from South Carolina via the internet! Hi Victor!

Hot news for a day or two....that is it.
To whom should this be "significant"? Let's see.....citizens of SC. Wow, there's a large chunk of the US population. Who else? Um....were there individals out there who viewed Sanford as the "great white hope" for the Republican Party? Somehow, I doubt it.
So, who does that leave? Oh yes....those who have a vested interest in impugning the state of South Carolina. God knows we have more than a few of those here.
Oh yes, and bad Governor!...bad..bad...bad...for not bending over to whatever Obama said!
In the grand scheme of things...this is about as significant as Michael Jackson's divorce.

Update: So...the stirring question of the day: Should Mark Sanford resign?

Whatever the personal opinions of Sanford, he has been a fantastic Governor. I can therefore say that I do not want to see him go.
On the other hand however, I see no other alternative.
First of all, while a Congressman in the 1990's, he said (loudly) that there should be no Impeachment proceedings against Bill Clinton because Clinton had been caught in an extra-marital affair and should therefore resign. So....needless to say...Sanford help set this bar- a ridiculous trap in which he now finds himself. "What's good for the goose..."
Finally, though he may have a few supporters left, Mark Sanford is now bereft of any political allies. His support came from those who espouse true conservatism. Unfortunately, that includes the Bible-thumping "religious conservatives" in this state. This morning on talk radio, I heard more Bible verses spouted than I ever heard in a month of Sundays while growing up. So now, in addition to being opposed by Democrats and loathed by the Lindsey Gramm/ neocon Republicans of this state, the good ol' church-goers are ready to take him out and hang him from a tree while singing "Amazing Grace".
What a wonderful world.
Time to resign, Governor.

Significant but not on a national level. This guy was always somewhat of a "strange ranger" and this frolic is icing on the cake. He is term limited so it is probably immaterial in the big picture if he stays or not. If he used public funds for his trysts, then he probably should resign even though that may not be illegal. In the past if he declared that he was traveling to Argentina to peddle South Carolina products, and he was actually sampling the local fauna, then he should definitely resign.

Ah, another politician who has disintegrated in the eyes of the public. Following in the shoes of fairly more recent major embarrassments on both sides of the political aisle: Governors Rod Blagojevich and Eliot Spitzer; Senators John Edwards, Larry Craig, and John Ensign; and House Representative Mark Foley; and last but not least, her royal bigness, "Call me SENATOR!" Barbara Boxer who continues to awe the public with her fanatical adherence to professional titles- South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford is now just another example of what is wrong when politicians think they are above anything. Sanford was caught, and like anyone, (but unfortunately not always as we have seen time and again) he ought to be held accountable.

The significance of this is that Sanford's star was steadily rising in the GOP. In light of what he has just done, however, he might now be relegated to a has-been.

There must be something in the water that make these politicians act the way they do.

If I had a dollar for every politician who "hiked the Appalachian Trail".... well, I wouldn't be sitting here and rating stuff.

Anybody else notice the women standing behind Sanford (I assume they were reporters) who burst out laughing when Sanford finally, at long last, admitted his infidelity at the press conference? Guess his announcement didn't come as any great surprise, certainly not to them. And has anybody else taken note of the fact that for someone who professes such great love for his sons and regret for how he has embarrassed them, he betrayed their mother with his putana in Argentina on Father's Day, of all days! I guess this means Sarah Palin is still the leading Republican candidate for President in 2012, by golly!

Come on, everybody, we all want to find out the answers to two questions:

-Who is she?

-Was she worth it?

This story is going to stay in the news for a while, given that The State will publish the complete epistolary romance tomorrow.

I respect Sanford for at least having been in love with this woman, as the excerpts from the cheesy correspondence strongly suggest.

Extra points because this didn't happen in a whorehouse or a bathroom stall, nor did money, a promotion, or a relative appear to be involved. This is so normal I almost feel bad for the schmuck.

Much more than a sad cheating story here, though, because Sanford is guilty of a total dereliction of duty. As Chalky said, he just doesn't care about governing. Time for Sanford to look in the mirror, and leave his job, and maybe his wife too.

How... unoriginal of him.

A politician having an affair? Get the fuck otta here?!

Although probably fairly significant for Sanford himself in regard to his chance of becoming a candidate for the GOP in 2012, in the grand scheme of 2009, this is no more than a blip on the radar.

This is wrong regardless of Democrat or Republican. No spin doctoring on that. However, since the Democrats claimed constantly that Bill Clinton's personal life did not matter during the Lewinsky case, they cannot judge Sanford either.

In reality of course, an individual's personal life always spills over into their political office whether President, Senator, Governor or whomever. Who you are when no one is looking is who you really are.

Sanford was also not only the leader of The Republican Governors Assn, but also considered a contender for the 2012 Presidential election. He can forget that now.

Between economic recovery, potential flu virus that could shift into something worse, the release of yet another horrible Micheal Bay movie, and other incessant ramblings I must admit that this one doesn't even blip on the radar as of now.

Who knows? It might represent a shift in America's backwards-sexual Puritannical needs for your leaders to have absolutely no fallacies or needs whatsoever south of the belt buckle. . .but I doubt it.