South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford has admitted in a live press
event that the reason he was in Argentina without the public's
knowledge over the past few days was to visit a woman with whom
he has had an affair. He also announced that he is quitting his
post as chairman of the Republican Governors Association.
He mentioned that his family had known about the affair prior to
this week, and that he has already taken steps to work through
the situation. During the press event he became visibly
emotional, struggling at times to speak. He did give background
on his partner and how he started a relationship with someone in
Argentina, which seemed unrehearsed and possibly too forthcoming
-- at times it seemed a little self-absorbed.
More to follow.
MORE:
Something does not quite add up. If his wife has known for at
least five months that he has been unfaithful then there are two
things to be explained: 1) Why was he in Argentina? He said that
he was committed to a "long process" of working through the
affair with his wife, so why would he be visiting this other
woman? 2) Why was this scandal not avoided? From a purely
political perspective, obviously Sanford would have been better
off without the revelation of his affair. Even if he wanted to
continue the affair, why would he go AWOL and fly to Argentina to
do so? If he hadn't made the gross misstep of failing to notify
anyone where he was, he never would have attracted attention. Is
his paramour such an important figure in Argentina that she
couldn't have met him somewhere stateside to avoid the attention
that would inevitably follow a major national politician's
unannounced trip to a foreign country?
In other words, based on what we know right now, there is
absolutely no reason that this situation needed to be a political
disaster for Sanford. If he simply could have provided any kind
of excuse or shown any of the forethought with which politicians
usually plot their dalliances, he still would be a 2012 contender
for the Republican nomination. Either he really is that clueless,
or there's even more to the story that we don't know right now.
EVEN more:
Meanwhile, in Columbia, the
impeachment rumblings are only going to get louder.
UPDATE:
This explains a lot. Apparently Sanford and his wife were in
a trial separation. Jenny Sanford released a statement explaining
that because of his affair, two weeks ago she requested a trial
separation, which she says she did for the sake of their kids and
for the good of the marriage. For that reason, she didn't know
his whereabouts. It also explains why he was visiting a woman in
Buenos Aires even though his wife had already learned of his
infidelity.
