Un Gobernador en Amor

I'm a little late in dropping my $0.02 about Governor Mark Sanford into the fountain, but that's OK. As I'm from South Carolina and this "scandal" will be on the front page of our newspapers from now until he a) resigns b) leaves office, this story is a long way away from reaching its expiration date.

In the sake of time, I'm presenting this post in Q&A format. I didn't want to spend a lot of time on this subject, but I did want to touch on it briefly. It is kind of an important topic.

Well, at least for those of us south of Charlotte and north of Savannah.

Are you embarrassed by Governor Sanford's actions?
Nope, not really. I mean, it could have been worse. Just ask New York. Or New Jersey*. Sadly, we live in a day and age where political infidelity has become the norm instead of the exception. I didn't get all worked up when ol' BillyC got a blowjob in the Oval Office. I'm not going to get all hot and bothered about my own Governor having an Argentinian mistress. Shit happens.

Do you think he should resign from his position as Governor?
To be honest, it doesn't matter. As far as South Carolina politics are concerned, he was already in a lame duck position. The Dems don't like him and a fair amount of the Republicans don't either. Even before the affair, Gov. Sanford couldn't get anything done. Now it's just going to be a matter of him not not doing anything while the media drags his character through the mud. If he resigned, it would make him look like less of a hypocrite (as he called for the resignation of Pres. Clinton and Sen. Craig), but if he decided to stay I wouldn't be surprised. From his previous actions, Sanford seems like the type of guy who just likes to make everyone's life difficult.

Aren't you upset about him leaving the state - nay, the country - without leaving anyone in charge?
You haven't met our Lt. Governor, have you? Not leaving him in charge may have been one of the best things Sanford could have done. If I'm going to be legitimately upset about anything in this matter, it's the whisperings that Governor Sanford may have used state funding to finance his trips to Argentina and New York. If you're going to have an affair, that's your own business. Once I start paying for your affair, then it becomes my business. Pay for your own hook-ups Mark. [7/2 Update: Cool]

Is your Governor crazy?
Possibly. Maybe he's in love. Or maybe he just found the "right" girl. Considering his behavior over the last couple of weeks, it's hard to tell where his head is at.

What should the Governor do next?
Stop talking. I don't know if anyone's noticed, but no one's been asking him any questions. All of the information he's provided so far about the affair, the other women, finding his soul mate, etc. was all volunteered by him. That's fine and all, but sometimes you have to know when to keep things on the "hush hush." If not for you, but for your wife, children, and people you were elected to serve. You're not doing anyone any favors by continuing to run your mouth.

Here's a Protip for Governor Sanford: Don't say anything unless asked and if asked, just plead the Fifth. It's worked before...


*There's nothing wrong with a man having an affair with another man. Whatever floats your boat. But let's be realistic here -- if that would have happened in South Carolina, there would have been a "mediastorm" of epic proportions. Mass hysteria!