immature clowns are undeserving of public office... even in south carolina.

I don't think the press should be left off the hook either. The coverage of this as a soap opera is reprehensible.

Whoops, wrong link: I don't think the press should be left off the hook either. The coverage of this as a soap opera is reprehensible.

Fuck this guy sideways.

Somebody at TPM wrote,

like Mexico, kidnapping is a huge problem in BA. People who look like they might be rich and important are targeted and held for ransom. A US governor would be CRAZY to run around BA without notifying the embassy or looking into at least a basic security option. With his American clothes and accent he would stick out like a sore thumb. If he did go down there by himself without notifying the embassy he's a completely reckless idiot.

How do we know for sure that the affair is with an Argentinean woman? Sanford called her a "dear friend." Was it only the reporters who said "woman" or did Sanford use that word to describe his lover?

Ironically, Sanford is the author of a book titled "The Trust Committed To Me".

I'm sure there will be some conservatives who bring up the fact that it is not only Republicans who have affairs. However, there is quite a difference between Republican and Democrat affairs, and you have touched on it in this posting: Republicans like to condemn others for the very things they themselves do. Oh, and then they like to ask God and their fellow citizens for "forgiveness." Yeah, that makes it all better...

Funny, but I think if they'd just stop throwing stones at everyone else they wouldn't have to grovel so shamelessly when they ultimately get caught.

The only people I feel sorry for is his wife and kids. I cannot imagine what his wife has gone through. He spoke about wanting to protect his children. Good move, but he should realize that stress on a marriage also places stress on the children.

Here's a screencap of the press conference at Media Matters,

http://mediamatters.org/blog/200906240026

where Fox has characteristically mis-identified Sanford as a Democrat, but check out the guy on the left!

Is there a name for that haircut?

Maybe he'll resign so that he can "spend less time with his family."

Steve you are absolutely right. The most reprehensible thing about Sanford is his willingness to screw his constituents by turning down stimulus money to advance his political career.

It looks like he is all in favor of getting behind an Argentinian stimulus package.

I don't really give a sh*t about Stanford's personal life...but what the hell would've happened if there was an emergency in the state? This moron was AWOL and put his entire state and its citizens at risk. It's great he stood up to face the music today, but he should resign right now or be impeached tomorrow.

Whoever you are reading this comment, you'd be canned from your job in a heartbeat if you just vanished for 4 days. I mean, seriously, this is a no-brainer.

You know, this kind of behavior wouldn't bother me except for what these s.o.b.s did to the country by setting the dogs upon Clinton for pure political advantage.

All that rule of law talk and the high and mighty moralizing was just crap. Clinton was a threat, and they were determined neuter his presidency (pardon the pun) by whatever means necessary.

It worked. It got us Bush. And by making such a political mockery of impeachment, these guys soured the nation on going after Bush for REAL crimes.

So as far as I'm, this latest hypocrite can just shove it. No forgiveness, no mercy. None. Suffer, you bastard.

It will be interesting to see whether the identity of Sanford's "dear, dear" Argentine Firecracker comes to light. And, if so, what she's like, what she has to say about all this, and whether she attempts to cash in by selling her story or whatever.

It looks like he is all in favor of getting behind an Argentinian stimulus package.

Oh, snap!

Oh, you know... it's all the fault of Teh Gays who got hitched. THEY ruined Sandford's marriage!

And WTF - Spitzer was gone in about a nanosecond after he was exposed. IOKIYAR Just pisses me off
to the point of insanity.

Two republican extra-martial affairs in a week. Wait for the coming next republican toe tapping story. Shouldn't be long.

Do the math:

Evangelical + Affair + Republican = GAY! GAY! GAY!

Leave Mark Sanford alooooooooooooooooone!!!!!!!!!

I'm offering even money that Sanford's "dear friend" is a guy.

Any takers?

I don't get it, really. All he had to do was tell the Lt. Gov he was going on a personal trip, tell him he's in charge, and then everyone would have assumed it was on the up and up.

The only reason it caught attention was because there was no one in charge.

No one would have contacted the wife to verify whether Sanford was visiting an ailing aunt or holed up in Argentina; if the wife had doubts she'd probably keep them quiet; and his staff would assume that the Lt. Gov was doing the job.

Bizarre.

Apparently he also has been carrying this on for about a year and the wife knew about it several months ago. So why the mystery?

The Conversation in the Governor's Office Continues

Staffer Two [Smacking his forehead]: Now I remember the word that began with "A" that the Governor used....adultery.

The short-term shame of public adultery is far more palatable than the devastating career legacy of being the next GOP nominee.

It's not just the family values issue -

these are the same guys that refuse to accept other people as they are - DOMA, Gays in the military....

What pisses me off is, military and police officers have more strict conduct rules. If you cheat on your wife/husband in the military you could be in a lot of trouble.

If you are a police officer, you could be in a lot of trouble if you cheat on your wife/husband.

The GOP, who happen to make some of the laws, amendments...feel they can just say, "I'm sorry, please forgive me," then walk into the sunset while keeping their jobs.

With the scarce job market, these guys should be held accountable. Period.

Republicans outsource even their extramarital affairs?

Personal foibles are part and parsel to our political culture directly because the Republican party made them so! Now, the likes of Gingrich, Sanford, Ensign, Vitter and who knows others are pilloried because they thought some time ago that by opening the box of privacy in the political arena they'd carry political favor from voters.

Oh, now the venue of "family values" looks a bit soiled, but the same idiots who thought it a good political idea are caught in the same disposition. The only difference? None of the above mentioned seems to have the integrity to resign, or even carry the equal weight of condemnation they so easily put upon former President Clinton! -Kevo

Sanford must be mad; He has lost all judgment. This is a total break with reality. He disappears for a week, and when he reemerges his excuse is that he was breaking up with "a friend" in Argentina? In Argentina? And this event was so urgent and so secret that he just had to rush off like that, without telling anyone where he was going? Without making the usual arrangements. Not to mention that he had to go over Father's Day? Did he imagine no one would notice?

Something doesn't compute here. Public people, even Republican governors, aren't typically so stupid or careless. Was he jealous of all the attention the Iranian people were getting? Was there some emergency at the other end? Or maybe, and this is really sad, maybe he really does love the other person, in which case his Republican family values are making him as miserable and crazy as they make the rest of us.

So the lesson here is simply not to be a horny evangelical Republican hypocrite.

I suppose chemical castration of the entire Republican delegation federal and state would be out of the question? It's the only way to be sure.

The biggest problem I have with this issue isn't one that most wouldn't consider. I don't mean to dismiss the hypocrisy regarding family values, the pain to Sandford's family, the possible criminal wrongdoing, or any of the rest.

But these guys among the elite, the true elite, don't work nearly as hard as they claim. When Bear Stearns was on the verge of collapse, their CEO couldn't be found because he was preoccupied in a bridge tournament. G.W. Bush vacationed more than any modern president and certainly more than the rest of us. Even the President of my small employer (not an owner) telecommutes from her beach house for weeks on end in the few instances where his whereabouts are actually known while her staff is expected to expected to be at our desks by 9:00 AM. And a new example--the Governor of South Carolina hops a plane to South American to see a woman...on a whim.

My frustration is that we have another kind of hypocrisy that nobody seems to call them on. These guys on the right are always spewing about how those among the upper reaches of the economic ladder work so hard for their keep. But it's total crap and another reason that we need to tax the hell out of them. They don't earn it.

right-wing conspiracy theory would think of some gay hooker black-mailing Sanford - and he needed to find a hitman in Argentina...

...or something like this.

But only if Sanford would be a dem. Oh wait, isn't that what Fox claimed?

I second Hoyt's motion. Five different kinds of sideways.

The Republican Party is finally cleaning house. Don't get any of that waste water on me, please.

"I'd be remiss if I neglected to add that while sex scandals are always going to generate public interest, the significance of Mark Sanford's efforts to screw over his own constituents with his neo-Hooverite economic policies is almost certainly more offensive than anything he had going on in his private life."

But taken together, they're even more offensive than that. This guy was actively working to bankrupt his own state, put thousands of his own constituents out of work and let South Carolinian children go hungry, while he secretly jets off to bang his South American mistress in a Buenos Aires hotel. Nice work, if you can get it,

It couldn't have happened to a nicer sanctimonious skin flint

The karmic hex created by the Clinton impeachment strikes yet again ...

Who will it hit next?

I figured out what was going on - though not "where", of course - when I read the wife's comments about not knowing or caring.

Hopefully, she'll dump his ass. A question that will/should be asked is how did he pay for his trip to Argentina? If it came out of state funds, he should be impeached and if he paid for it, it came out of "marital funds", which will make interesting accounting in the divorce summary.

8 Days ago

"Mark, I vant you to come down to Argentina. I have ze chains ready."
"But, it's going to be fathers day."
"Father's day, what?"
"Father's day, sir! And it's important, sir!"
"Und just for zat back talk you vill tell no one vere you are."
"But my career!"
"My career, what?"
"My career Sir!"
"Choose, pig! Me or your so called career!"

A man on the short list for the Republican presidential nomination is compromised, in a foreign nation, by an unknown woman.

Had he become president, he would have been subject to blackmail. If I were the CIA, I'd want to know who this woman is and to whom she is connected.

It looks like he is all in favor of getting behind an Argentinian stimulus package.

I think an Argentinian behind was all the stimulus package he needed.

Somewhere there's a Sanford campaign adviser with his head in his hands saying, "Mark, that's not what I meant by you needing to get more exposure in international affairs."

Ptate Or maybe, and this is really sad, maybe he really does love the other person, in which case his Republican family values are making him as miserable and crazy as they make the rest of us.

Exactly. That "dear, dear friend" bit, that apology, first to HER, sorry he hurt HER. Repressed all his life, now crazy in love sexually, emotionally, just considering the idea that now, maybe, he can "begin" to work this out. He said that over and over, we're going to begin to work this out. He put it off for a long time, and he's desperate. He's gone, emotionally, and he knows it. These uptight corporate types can keep going as an automaton for only so long, then they break, and it's always pitiful.

Sex, Lies, where's the videotape?

It's funny, he's a champion of no-taxes, he may have won the no-taxes, but he lost to child support & alimony!

I have this funny feeling that Mark Sanford and Lindsey Graham have more in common than just being SC politicians. Anyone else notice how awkward he was when he said "her" in reference to his paramour? At least Lindsey isn't married. Just deeply -- if unconvincingly -- closeted.

Forgive me if somebody already mentioned this, but we'd have to be idiots to believe that Sanford went to Argentina for several days to break up with this woman. He could have broken up with her over the phone. Sanford flew down there to get laid--again--probably at taxpayer expense.

He fessed up my ass. He talked about the commandments, apologized to people of faith, and then continued to lie. What a dick.

Republican family values guys having affairs is becoming so common they should just form a new organization called Promise Breakers.

Ferris Buehler syndrome. The worst part of this was he had the staff continue to make it seem as if he was still around. Twittering away. They are accessories. And like Ensign, whose "affair" was actually sexual harassment and exploitation of a subordinate and extortion of another (they were in a bind trying to keep their jobs), here Sanford involved his staff in his plan to drop in on his mister/mistress while neglecting his oath of office and official responsibilities. Impeachment of Ensign and Sanford is a legal necessity.

I don't give a flying fuck about Mark Sanford. South Carolina chooses to be a Third World country. The state that gave us John C. Calhoun deserves what it gets.

phoebes, I believe Sanford said he paid for the trip out of his own funds.

What bothers me the most was Sanford saying, basically, that he cares about the people of his state, and I'm thinking, yep, that's why you wanted to not accept stimulus money for your needy citizens.

I do give him kudos for being truthful about this and I think he was trying to spare his family and friends (they've all known for five months) the humiliation, but when he took off without making any provisions, showing disregard for his state... well, he was asking for the ensuing storm that followed.

And he can now kiss his presidential aspirations buh buh.

Ya know, "family values" can be rearranged to spell:

my values fail

or

my saliva fuel

It all makes sense to me now.

Political power must really make some people horney, don'tcha think?

I'd be tempted to cut Sanford a little slack on this; after all, "Little Hoover" has just proved that he's out for "a little something on the side" like many of his fellow-humans. Maybe he's in need of that personal plate proposed by someone a few weeks ago: "Can't a brother get a break?"

My bad--memory glitch. It was "can a brutha get a break."

For my money, governor, NO.

LOL What's the score on hypocritical Republicans who voted to impeach Clinton getting caught in their own scandals now.

I once heard in an episode of Sex in the City that affairs in a foreign country don't count. I guess Gov. Sanford missed that episode.

I think Eric Cantor will be the next to fall - he's so full of himself, he thinks he's cute, but he looks like a little rat.

How long was he in Argentina?
How long does it take to break up with someone?

All these cheatin' husband, teary-eyed press conferences are getting tiresome. What happened to the good ol' days of Lorena Bobbit, when girls took things into their own hands?

Insofar as giving Sanford credit for not having his wife by his side like so many other adulterous politicians subject their wife to during the press conference of shame: Who, exactly, deserves that credit? Based on the few comments I've read coming from the governor's wife, it sounds to me like she's fed up with that doo schnozzle. I'd be completely unsurprised to learn Sanford begged his wife to stand by her man for the cameras, only to be told "what makes you so sure you're still my man, dipwad?" Or, you know, words to that effect.

i can't believe that nobody have brought up "evita."

sanford's "i spent five days in argentina crying" vs "don't cry for me, argentina."

since the gov is on a salary, covered by the taxpayers, isn't he supposed to be on call?

leaving without a heads up to the second in command strikes me as a serious matter..

i guess the pressure of having ten of his vetoes overturned in one session got to him...

It's time to assume that all GOP politicians have at least one 'secret family' waiting to be discovered.

I really think one of these politicians should try the Berlusconi method: "what I do in my private life is none of your business. If you have a question about my governing, proceed. Otherwise, your question is irrelevant and will not be indulged. We can let the voters decide, when the election comes, if they think the issue is relevant"... IOW, f*ck off bitches.

We all know someone who has cheated. If you don't, you either travel in extremely small or unrepresentative circle of friends. People have sex with people they aren't married to. It was ever thus - maybe assuming they won't, promising they won't, is the problem.

Gov Sanford is human. people that throw insults are launching against a mirror.

Nice try, Flubs. Sanford is a guy who violated the public trust, hurt the people of his state with his outrageous partisanship, and tried to derail the American economic recovery for partisan gain. The sexual indulgence was just more of a pattern of extreme amorality and narcissism.

The fact that he involved his staff in a deceitful dalliance in a foreign country,(the staff twitter-covered for him), and attempted to stuff his "values" down our throats? He'll get nothing and like it with regard to deference. . .

Who cares! I don't care where he was or what he was doing. Where I come from after five days, no show, no call, your fired!

"...the significance of Mark Sanford's efforts to screw over his own constituents with his neo-Hooverite economic policies is almost certainly more offensive than anything he had going on in his private life..."-Benen

Agreed! Few of those getting scrtewed by his policies could ever afford Argentina afairs so if even one dome went toward his personal affair from state funds paying it back is hardly enough.

Funny how Guiliani got away with it when it was even publicly known with an assigned government escort service. Palin gets away with it too though no affair has been connected to her yet just overcharging the public fund for staying in her own house. It's always okay when they do it...bad when you wanna' do it.

The affair is his business...the hypocrisy is our business.

Steve, let me ease your angst.. fuck Sanford. He gets no bonus points for stepping in front of the mike and "coming clean". I don't want to f#ckin' hear about what a stand-up guy Sanford is.. if he was a stand up guy there would have been one less press conference and a helluva lot less posts/comments on this.

It's all his wife Jenny's fault...She just couldn't be another person. God, to have your personal relations nationalized.

I have no sympathy for a man who has absolutely no sympathy for the poor people in his own state, the ones he's supposed to represent and protect. His affair took priority over all else...time to leave public office and get his priorities straight.

Self centered and self serving nature I guess. Before he leaves office watch he doesn't burn up money in the state treasury so the unemployed can't get to it. Best he go somewhere to forget and be forgotten.

How long was he in Argentina?
How long does it take to break up with someone?
Posted by: Ahistoricality on June 24, 2009 at 5:35 PM

To quote a famous philosopher "there must be 50 ways to leave your lover."

Flubber:
"We all know someone who has cheated. If you don't, you either travel in extremely small or unrepresentative circle of friends. People have sex with people they aren't married to. It was ever thus - maybe assuming they won't, promising they won't, is the problem."

I agree to these notions in general and I'd agree to them in Sanford's specific case as well if that is what he had said about Bill Clinton and Bob Livingston, or if he at least would have kept his mouth shut about them, or if he would now come out with a statement of that sort.

However, as Sanford was quite unequivocal in condemning Clinton and Livingston, and as he hasn't said anything of the sort Flubber wrote in his comment, Sanford can not escape the verdict of being a hypocrite and the fair sanction for hypocrites is a mouthful of their own bitter medicine.

"...I do give him kudos for being truthful about this and I think he was trying to spare his family and friends (they've all known for five months) the humiliation, ..."-Me

How do we know he's not lying about this too, that they found out days ago,...after all, his wife denied knowing where he was too. He's trying to look honest but he could be lying about all of this while making deals with his spouse not to say anything contrary. He's given no reason for us to believe him on anything so far. He's lied to everyone but now is telling the truth??

Posted by: slappy magoo on June 24, 2009 at 5:51 PM...I can see slappy's point as being extremely credible.

10 vetoes...10 vetoes overturned...how fucking stubborn and uncaring can this corporatist self serving asshole be...just ask his wife.

Sanford was AWOL.

I'd say check his state credit card statements. I'll bet he used the state credit card to wine & dine his latin lover.

Go figure, the SOUTH is not too particularly fond of minorities and he sleeps with one, maybe two, maybe three....oh well.

I wonder how many people he refused to give a pardon to regardless if they were able to prove innocence.

I will search the web and see if he ever made a discriminatory statement against a minority.

A stand-up guy doesn't lecture others on "family values" and then cheat on his wife.

A stand-up guy doesn't lecture others on "family values" while cheating on his wife.

His affair has been going on for awhile. As with Gingrich, Vitter, Ensign, and now Sanford, it is the simultaneous sinning and preaching that is especially grating.

As I watched Sanford's press conference, I felt a curious detachment and could not shake the thought of the abject weirdness of it all. I cannot decide (and honestly probably cannot be bothered to decide) what it was that I was witnessing. Is this Public Confession of Infidelitiy 2.0? I could not shake the feeling that there was an intent to "play" those in attendence with all that strange, cathartic, meandering (oh, please, spare me the) detail. The undertone of regret still seemed to smell of "regret of being exposed," rather than the genuine regret of betraying (no, not just "letting down") his family. And I found it odd that he felt obliged to resign as the chair of a Republican govenor's association (don't let the door hit ya) in the middle of his soliloquy. Peculiar indeed, but, I give him novelty points if nothing else.
OTOH, it also appeared to me that Sanford may believe he has found a soul mate in the woman with whom he has been carrying on the affair. And still, I could not care less. The whole thing left me cold and marveling once again how our political elite can lie with such efficiency.
Finally, I was disturbed by his reference to "God's Law." In addition to feeling like he would cling to his "right" to judge others for "failing" with respect to God's Law, I found it provided too much convenient distance from one's own responsibilty for one's actions and decisions. This trip was reckless on a grand scale for both his public and private obligations. It's like a bad Greek tragedy.

For many politicians, especially Republicans lately, having an affair is part of the whole alpha booboon complex: use power to get females. Republicans combine it with a rapacious social Darwinian contempt for minorities and the poor. Baboonlicans!

I don't know who had real suspicion-scoop first (ie, not just "suspicious" in one's mind as many of us were), but here's one early feeler:
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/06/source_there_is_some_evidence_sanford_was_not_alon.php

If only SCOTUS CJ John Roberts would go to Argentina....

I heard Michelle Malkin on Hannity today telling us how really, really terrible a thing it is for a married man to break the sacred vows he made to his wife. I'm not sure I heard this from her in 2008 about John McCain, Rudy Giuliani, et. al.

It's none of my business what's happening in his family, but the guy is in charge of running the whole freaking state, and he went AWOL on his responsibilities to his citizens.

Dump him.

We can plainly see how both the press and the Repubs reacted when Spitzer got caught. He was flushed in a heartbeat even though both the means used to find his adultery was plainly an abuse of law, and at no time was it apparent that he neglected his duties.

What do you wanna bet that Stanford stays on as Gov just like Craig and Ensign stay on as Senators?

What a bunch of lying hypocrites. When is the Repub party going to clean house?

Once again, Faux made a "mistake" in the disgraced politicians' party affiliation. See at http://gerrycanavan.blogspot.com/2009/06/sanford-on-teevee.html
"Sanford (D)" - someone has to really make hay out of that pattern of crap.

Maybe the Republicans are finally valuing "a wise Latina woman" -- one at a time. Good news for Sotomayor!

Immature clowns are also unworthy of your "mixed emotions". Get over it, Steve. He and ensign were probably coached by the same PR team. Never heard anything more disingenuous in my life. Can't believe you bought it.

Sanford is a bigger hypocrit than noted -

June 2008 he signed "Immigration Bill 4400"

this was supposed to be tougher on illegal immigrants than any state in the U.S.

***Sanford had a history of calling President Obama a sack of s***

Yeaaa Boyyy, who's the sack of s*** now.

Yep, I'm with you Steve. Many mixed emotions running the gamut on this one.

And yes, I find his recent efforts to screw over his constituents (well put) with his neo-Hooverite economic policies more offensive yet.

Certainly more dangerous.

I feel like I need a good long shower after today's sleaze-fest. Much as I hate the guy's politics and hate such blatant hypocrisy like this, I just hope this all goes away soon.

How much more can we learn from this sad, pathetic story?

Not much.

The mixed emotions I am experiencing are "Schaden" and "Freude".

Actually, there should be a CI (Counter-intelligence) investigation of the Stanford case. Presumably, the Governor of South Carolina has acess to sensitive information on national defense information and under the circumstances, he should be taking a polygraph on what went on.

Imagine if this had happened during the Cold War.

From the Republicans POV, Palin isn't looking so bad after all.. (yes, I'm being facetious..)

A "stand-up guy"? Or a slimy fucking hypocrite who got caught with his pants around his ankles? Those who have seen "The Ruling Class" will know what I mean when I say, "One less".

I listened intensely, to the SC gov's 'confession'...I came away with one gut feeling that this man is TOTALLY in love with the Argentine
woman. I really don't think this attempt at reconciliation is gonna work out for him -n- his wife...his love for this woman was apparently greater than his love for his sons on Father's Day...so to even stick around just for the boys isn't gonna work for long...plus he will NEVER give up contacting his 'dear, dear friend', EVER!! They have way too many years in their 'luggage' and his wife knows this...she will never know when he's is contacting this 'dear, dear friend', hence, she will never trust this man again...and to forgive him??..Forgiveness comes with a price tag called divorce and get on with your own life and show him that there is another 'love' for her, too!! One she can trust...and as far as his political career goes (dump this loser)..even SC took a backseat to this 'dear, dear friend'..this woman must be one good-looker and, more importantly, one hell of a woman, because she beat out his wife, sons and the people of SC and duties, his friends and staff...WOW!! and even his faith. YEP, I'd say he's very much in love with this woman, so the best 'revenge' would let them have each other..as Spock said, 'Having is not as pleasing as wanting'! and believe me. I know this is to be sooo true, cuz that's what I did to my failed marriage( 34 yrs.)...let 'em have each other and sure enuff...he is MISERABLE and I found my one true love(at 54) that I can trust, love, laugh with, live with, be happy with and enjoy life and it's simpler things, even in these hard times. And this can happen for the 'Gov's' wife, as well. GIT ER DONE, GIRL...raise ur boys right and find that love and the hell with that failure of a husband.

OHHH, I forgot...he did say he hurt HER (1st)..then his wife and sons were 3rd and 4th on that list of peeps he HURT!!! Guess he used the word 'hurt' for a lack of better words...like 'screwed, devasted, cut out the hearts of, stabbed in the back...and does anyone really buy that 'cried for 4 days in Argentina' story?..more like , 'shot my loads for a week in Argentina and had a blast on Father's Day with HER 2 kids'..now THAT I would buy!

When asked why people had the impression he was hiking the Appalachian Trail, Sanford explained that he "created a fictional account"--Republicanspeak for he was *lying*.