When the press started talking about the six day missing saga of Mark Sanford, Governor of South Carolina, all I could think of was three things. My first thought was "isn't that the guy that wanted to turn down the money from the stimulus package targeted for his state"? Secondly, I had a vague recollection of Aimee Semple McPherson, the Evangelist who went missing for 32 days in the 1920's and returned with a wild tale of her forced kidnapping to cover her absence. Yes, something's shady here, too. My third thought was "why should we care about any of this at all".
When the dust cleared, we found out that Jenny Sanford had kicked her husband out of the house because he had been having an affair with Maria Beleh Chapur of Argentina. It seem that Sanford hadn't been hiking in the Appalachians at all. Rather, he'd been visiting his girlfriend in Buenor Aires. I saw a dazed man come forward in a hastily called press conference to tell listeners that he had cheated on his wife, let his sons down, lied to his staff, and abandoned his responsibilities for six days due to his personal difficulties.
Turns out Mark Sanford is or was a frontrunner with aspirations for the White House in 2012. When the story of his extramaritial affair leaked, he immediately resigned his position as Chairman of the Republician Governors Association. Well, score one for Mike Huckabee, Sarah Palin and Mitt Romney and others. This scandal may be all she wrote for this politician.
I heard pundits talk about other politicians who had been disgraced under similiar circumstances, most recently Republican Senator John Ensign of Nevada. Although Governor Sanford resigned from his high level position in the GOP, it appears he wants to stay on as Governor. Some say he should resign, while others say this incident shouldn't force him out of office. I say it's a matter of trust. If he'll cheat on his wife who he admits has worked diligently by his side to support his political aspirations, I can only guess what he'd do to others. In addition, these guys all come off as holier than thou, spouting the rhetoric of family values and the sanctity of marriage, blah, blah, blah. Man, do I hate that hypocrisy, but I guess the issue is for the good citizens of South Carolina to decide. Another one gone...another one bites the dust!
His story and statements made headlines for days and lingered as the top story until Michael Jackson, King of Pop, died of a sudden heart attack at age 50 and all eyes and ears turned to that story.
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