I'm enjoying the downfall of this guy as much as the next guy, but can we leave the diagnoses of mental illness to the mental health professionals please?

(And, yes, I come from Illinois, where our last governor was accused of being a little disconnected from reality himself as you may recall.)

When even Republicans think you're crazy...

That's really interesting, because I was talking to someone today who had seen the Sanford interview and that person described him as unhinged. Not that this person is a mental health expert or anything, but she is very observant and if she's saying it, other people are as well.

If Sanford is not mentally balanced, then what makes anyone think that he will resign for the good of all? When a person is acting out and becomes a danger to himself/herself and others, it is the responsibility of those around him/her to intervene and remove the person from the dangerous situation. You don't yell at a child to not run into a busy street if that child has not demonstrated an ability to discern the danger of such action. You restrain the child for its own protection.

Sanford is acting out in childish/adolescent ways and needs to be restrained. His mental health can be evaluated once he and his constituents are out of danger.

I am committed to Oneness through Justice and Transformation
peace,
st john

I wonder what personnel action Governor Sanford would expect to be taken if a South Carolina state employee walked off the job and disappeared for several days?

Insanity would have to be diagnosed by a professional, however do the people of South Carolina believe that what we have all witnessed over the last week to be a competent Governor doing his job?

These days Republican Governors seem to enjoy newly expanded job duties to include trail hikes, South American trysts, public arguments with comedians, and now, daily confessional exercises and philosophical musings.

In lieu of fireworks Saturday night, Sanford set to fire on Fort Sumter.

So basically Dems are cheaters and Republicans are "mentally-ill"?

Standard Republican comments for someone they oppose. Remember Gore and Dean were "crazy" too and the press actually talked about this.

Give the Sanford stories a rest until the guy resigns, OK?

In his mind it's downright bibllical, just as he says. He WANTS and NEEDS to be impeached, as God's punishment for his sins, just like his hero King David. http://tinyurl.com/mv2beu

I think the governor should resist calls for his resignation. I'm certain that, if he gives more in-depth interviews on this subject to major media outlets over the coming weeks, his GOP colleagues will come to understand his position and support him completely.

I, for one, do not give a shit about this guy or his problems. I'm more concerned with the trainwreck that's coming in California and other large states when they begin to drastically cut back on their social services. Screw South Carolina. It's fine for the roman circus, but we have other bigger problems right now.

I was recently at a "Brain Games" charity event, where teams tried to outscore each other in a series of trivia quizzes. After one of them, a guy I didn't know commented, "Who ever heard of that german word (schadenfreude)?" I said, "I guess you're not a Democrat."

So we're hearing psychobabble from a bunch of amateurs? What are they going to do, pull an Earl Long, kindnapp Gov. Sanford and put him in the nuthouse?

Hopefully Sanford's crazy enough to thell them all to go to hell.

Maybe this can go another way. Many of us really do have mental illnesses (I'm bipolar), and it's highly stigmatized. To have a prominent governor who faces the challenges of mental illness might help to destigmatize our situation. Granted, Sanford isn't exactly our best poster boy, but sometimes you have to take what you can get. If this can cause an honest discussion on mental illness, we will all be better for it.

The linked article is pretty bad. None of the politicians quoted are doctors, their opinions on his mental state are entirely worthless , actually worse than worthless -- the political stakes in play mean they're prone to bias as well. When they finally do get around to quoting actual professionals, there's only one actual psychologist, the others are a counselor and a social worker. And all three offer wildly differing guesses as to his diagnosis, which means a maximum of one actually knows what he or she is talking about. But it's probably closer to zero... An armchair diagnosis of a patient you've never even met -- let alone examined thoroughly -- is the same as flipping through the DSM-IV and picking out a disorder at random. Doing so publicly is shameful.

But I'll admit that it's fun. So I think I'll play too. Mark Sanford has Tourette's, Nasal Erections, and a magic gnome in his brain, and the magic gnome has Synasthesia, a Paraphilia involving "Leather Mimes" and Triskaidekaphobia. And also, maybe there's like hay fever or something.

Isn't there some kind of irony in our sitting around discussing this guy's mental/emotional state (I'm assuming that not everyone here is a psychiatrist), and then commenting on the fact that no one else being interviewed in the MSM is one either ?

I suggest Sanford take Tango lessons.

I bet Sanford won't resign because he needs the money!

Think about it - public person is a god-fearing, family values Republican, but private person is a philandering jerk. Perhaps he's a fiscal conservative in public, but in debt up to his ears in private. Maybe he's spent all the money he has and then some, relying on the rich wife to cover his personal fiscal irresponsibility.

He just doesn't want to go to the unemployment office. His wife, who has the money, might have cut off his allowance. Could it be that he really needs that paycheck, especially after all the expensive travel bills?

Whateva !!! Republicans/conservatives are positioning themselves so they can claim is mentally ill, whatever the diagnosis, therefore he wasn't in the right frame of mind when he cheated (ie, a rational conservative /christian wouldn't pull this crap). They are distancing the party from the the moral issue, like they always do.

It's pathetic for his friends & colleagues to go on record with this Jerry Springer diagnoses, there is no good reason to do that. Proving once again, party is more important then anything. Funny how the pro-Reagan party is violating the number one rule, speaking ill of another republican, when suits there interests.

What fun, a Caine Mutiny in S.C.! Some of us were hoping to see this at a national level during the Bush administration, but alas, Republicans who privately reported hearing Bush say some alarmingly bizarre things didn't have the stones, or the patriotism, to do it.

Delusional, you say? Narcissistic, you say? Please point out a major Republican figure who doesn't display these characteristics to a greater or lesser degree.

Rove? Gingrich? Boehner? Palin? Limbaugh?

And, please note, I think a significant number of the Democratic leadership have at least narcissistic tendencies.

Knight Sanford theme song should be "Secret Lover" by Atlantic Starr

As far as using the mental excuse, this won't fly.

If a police officer fails the mental examination - not mentally fit to be a police officer - he cannot be a police officer.

Same as ignorance is no excuse for breaking the law.

Stop the excuses!!!

BTW, I have a hard time understanding why this guy can continue to say he won't leave.

As a citizen, if I went to my job and refuse to leave after being asked to leave - that is Trespassing.

If I went on anyone's property after being asked to leave - that is Trespassing.

Even my own home, if I was kicked out of the house and my husband lied to the police that I no longer live their - that is Trespassing, and the officer will tell me it's a civil matter.

Go figure, people must be Afraid of him.

well as a SC resident I can tell all that he has been this nutty for 6 1/2 years . as for being competent to govern he is no more incompetent now that he was when he took office

It seems to me that with all the restrictions the electorate place on their elected officials, you're going to see some of these traits in most of them. While we got lucky on this last presidential election, having constructive discussions about policy is no longer the norm.

rbe1 @ 5:07 is right, enuf Sanford, California is flamming out.

Nobody will think he's crazy tomorrow when he announces he's moving Jenny and the family down to the Buenos Aires apartment so that he can interview his mistress for his memoir. Will they?

I assume they are setting him up for a Section 8. It's probably easier to remove him as mentally incompetent than to just plain impeach him.

I agree that Sanford's personal life is of no concern to me, except that he keeps holding press conferences to make sure I know about it. I'm not a psychiatrist, but I am an employer, and he couldn't keep a seat that I pay for warm after his irresponsible on the job conduct.

He doesn't work for me or affect my life any more than a sitcom on TV, but he is even more entertaining, now that he has brought in the huge GOP supporting cast.

Damn, we're out of popcorn and beer. 'Scuse me, I gotta go out for some supplies.

Better mental than postal...

And I think I've finally figured out why he refused to take the stimulus money. He was giving Jenny a hint; he wants her to refuse alimony and child support, once she hands him his permanent walking (or Buenos Aires flying) papers...

I think most South Carolina laypersons have concluded on their own that Sanford is nuckin' futz.

Sanford is an idiot- he was seperated, all he had to do was be honest about it. He wasn't hiding anything from his wife, his coverup was the mistake that cost him... pretty dumb.

The DNC has been tracking his every move since he embarassed Chairman O with his rejection of porkulus funds. Anybody with a dozen brain cells could tell you he would get caught. They didn't uncover this... but they would have eventually.

And on Fathers' Day Sunday, when he's got 4 young boys- hellooo!

I for one am glad nobody will be talking about a presidential run for the guy, I've seen enough of his judgement to know we'd be much better off with someone else.

http://reaganiterepublicanresistance.blogspot.com

Oh well, all I can say at this point is, "things that make you go hmmm."

For sure, if this was a Dem, there'd be tea-party like demonstrations to make the guy step down.

But then, there's no wonder the idiots (GOP) does whatever, says whatever, they want - they can certainly get away with it. Gotta Love America - What's Left of It!!!

My impression of the whole situation is that he really is in love with this woman from Argentina. Given that his wife is a hard driving Wall St. type, I can understand that he feels the way he does.

This is in contradistinction to the rest of the Republican two timers who were in love with themselves, not their paramours. For example we have McCain who picked up with a blonde multimillionaire and dumped his first wife when she was no longer photogenic thanks to a car accident. Another example is Gingrich who is the epitome of self-gratification and can't even pretend to be or have been in love with any of his wives. The same goes for Giuliani.

Having said that, it would have been more honest for Sanford to have divorced his wife first before taking up with someone who fills the empty parts of his life.

That the Republicans can't understand what it means to be in love is about par for the course. Their whole ideology is one of me first. That is why they can understand why McCain, Giuliani and Gingrich did what they did and completely condone their behavior, but when faced with someone who acts against their perceptions of normal behavior and cares about someone not him(her)self, they regard it as a psychological aberration.

Apparently none of the people commenting on Sanford's mental status have ever been in love.

Agreed with others above. Let the good folks of SC deal with this and move on to other more pressing matters.

Apparently none of the people commenting on Sanford's mental status have ever been in love.

I don't think it was love, but rather insane hubris, that made Sanford compare himself to King David. Or issue that statement in which he said he really wanted to resign, 'cause that would be the easy way out, but close friends prevailed upon him to stay so he could spent the next 18 months winning our trust again, and plus it would be a wonderful lesson in redemption for his four sons (whom he named). Oh, and by the way, his fiscal policies are the ONE TRUE WAY.

The affair with Maria is the least of it, believce me. The man isn't truly in love with anyone but himself.

I agree with Crangle. He should have resigned from the governors association post.

Well, I guess if everyone seems to be okay with this type of behavior from an elected official, then now would be the perfect time to just let it slide.

One point I'd like to make clear - if a person serving in the military has an affair, they'd be in a lot of trouble.

You have people that are gay in the military and are being kicked out.

As far as I'm concerned, these politicians will only do what people let them do. Example, women always get the short-end of the stick in relationships. However, the men will only do what most women let them do.

I'm a woman, I'm not trying to disrespect anyone with what I said, but that's the way most "bad boys" would argue the point.

I've said it before, I'll say it again: "Being Republican" is a mental disorder - one that should be in the DSM IV.

Apparently none of the people commenting on Sanford's mental status have ever been in love. -- Disputo, @21:23

There's very little difference between being in love (though he sounds more bewitched than in love) and being insane :)

But, there's also the question of how may times you can be "in love", with different objects of that passion, while cheating on someone whom you promised to cherish "till death do us part" and with whom you have 4 children? Belen may be an exception of sorts, but the cheating has been going on for quite a while, with women other than the Soulmate. If he's so "in love", why doesn't he leave his wife (and children and the various mansions and other creature comforts she's provided for him) and go live in a Buenos Aires apartment with the Soulmate? He'd be also well advised to find a role model more convincingly alike than King David; I'm sure that even the Bible could supply him with some...

The "I wanna eat my cake and keep it too" *is* a common human desire but most of us grow up and face the reality -- it's not possible to achieve, most of the time.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Given that his wife is a hard driving Wall St. type, I can understand that he feels the way he does. -- Texas Aggie, @21:19

And it took him what... 15yrs and 4 kids to discover just how hard-driving and cold she is? It's all her fault, for sure. And their sons will all end up gay and it will be all her fault too. Pfui.

[...] the men will only do what most women let them do. -- annjell, @24:03

That one is as old as the hills, or almost :) More than a 100yrs ago, a tsar (can't remember which one) said that women -- either single mothers or divorcees -- were not entitled to receive child support because "a dog won't take, if a bitch won't give". That dictum/argument had been ridiculed by lawyers in all the commie countries since 1945 (and in the Soviet Union, long before then) but, I guess, the commie countries were deficient in their thinking...

As Kissinger said: "Power is the greatest aphrodisiac" Just like Kissinger, it's not like the guy is the best looking sample of the male gender.

Power can be very alluring to someone else, not to mention that it makes the person him/herself think they really are 'beautiful and powerful.' It wouldn't surprise me that he honestly thought the Argentine lady loved him for his 'looks' and 'charm' and had nothing to do with his political position.

Regardless... It is just another example of Republicans diagnosing without full knowledge of the person or facts. Anybody remember Senator Frist who diagnosed Shiavo with authority 'because' he was a medical doctor. Not every professional with a degree knows what they are talking about... Some do and the rest aught to know.

The flip side is that certain professionals lacking the proper credentials actually know more about a variety of mental conditions, because they work with those people / patients on a daily basis.

Sometimes it is as simple as the famous Supreme Court Justice said: "I'll know it when I see it"

You know, I find this kind of quasi-pop-psychology really irresponsible, and "boo" to you Steve Benen for propagating it, especially doing so with a weaselly "I have no way of knowing if any of this nonsense is true, but let's discuss the political implications!" What you did in this post isn't that different from news outlets that discussed speculation on Obama's "muslim" beliefs because of the political implications. It happens far too much in the normal press and cable news, we don't need to see it in the blogosphere.

And for what it's worth, you don't need a mental illness to do something stupid, or irresponsible, or assholish. And the only implication of any such amateur speculations is that the people engaging in it and repeating it are doing their audience a disservice.

This is Krauthammer-league bs.

It has been noted that Sanford is a member of the "Fellowship", a strange and very secretive religious cult that recruits and caters to political elites. Their tortured 'Christian' theology teaches that men in power were chosen by god to do a 'job', and that their special status relieves them of conventional morality. I'm not making this up. So if you espouse 'family values', and pontificate on the sanctity of marriage (between a man and a woman only, of course), it doesn't matter if you have serial mistresses. God understands.

Sanford's reference to biblical King David in his confession speech merely confirm his adherence to this narcissistic nonsense. King David did 'great' things, allegedly, but he was not a good person. That didn't matter because he was chosen by god, says the guru of the "Fellowship".

Since the 'job' is more important than the personal behavior of the man, and has god's imprimatur, Sanford can behave any way he pleases and gets a free pass. That's his mental problem.

George Bush believed he was god's messenger. Sanford and Co., believe they are god's CIA.

Well, once he resigns, I don't give two shits about his mental state or personal life, but until then, he deserves our attention because he's an employee of the citizens of SC, and it's the bosses' job to keep track of the employee's performance (including their physical or mental capacity to perform their duties).

delusional, extreme hypocrisy, detachment from realty...sounds like sanford is very mainstream republican/conservative, a veritable poster boy.

Y'all seem to have missed the point. An earlier SC governor (James Petigrew) noted his state's conflicted status ("too small to be a republic; too large to be a mental asylum"). It appears that Gov. Mark has opted for the latter scenario. A good game plan, given that the Southern Strategy (and the Christianized/Dominationist-driven military)is all the GOP's got goin' for themselves these days.

This is Krauthammer-league bs.
Posted by: Royko
No, because we are evaluating Sanford's actual behavior and possible implications. Plus, Steve is addressing that others have already been discussing Sanford's stability and judgment, even from within his own party.

Indeed, if "even Republicans think you're crazy ..."

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