Mark Sanford, the Hiker
Governor Mark Sanford at a Columbia, SC press conference on June 24 (Davis Turner/Getty )
In March,2004, I was following the South Carolina primary and was doing live shots from outside the state capitol in Columbia.
Out came Governor Sanford to say hello. I had covered him while he was a member of Congress, particularly during the Clinton impeachment battles.
We had gone out for dinner or drinks a couple times, so when I saw him as Governor, I exclaimed “Mark, I haven’t seen you since the last time we had a few beers together!”
A look of alarm crossed his face, and he quietly asked me to not spread that around because South Carolinians don’t appreciate good time politicians, even mildly good time ones. They definitely will not appreciate this.
In the sex scandal derby, this one races right to the front….past John Ensign’s hypocricy, David Vitter and Elliot Spitzer’s call girls…perhaps even past Bill Clinton’s White House whatever.
This one is bizarre! The guy just DISAPPEARED, for cryin’ out loud, and then had an aide say he was merely taking a hike on the Appalachian Trail.
To the best of my knowledge, there is no Appalachian Trail in Argentina. And call me crazy, but I truly don’t believe he did any hiking while he was down in Buenos Aires.
The next question is whether the people of South Carolina will want Sanford to pack it in . The residents of that state are not well known for their sense of humor about such things.
They will be bombarded by reminders that Congressman Stanford had called on President Clinton to resign because Clinton lied about his relationship with Monica Lewinsky.
But that doesn’t compare to the whopper Stanford tried to peddle. It was off by thousands of miles, He was wintering an entire hemisphere away, but now he’s come back to face the heat, not only for his affair, but for the audacious attempt to convince the world he was hiking the Appalachian Trail.
Scratch him from the list of leading Republican presidential contenders. What remains to be seen is whether he can remain as governor when so many from his state will be asking him to really take a hike.
Post Your Comment
You must be logged in to post a comment
T/S Members
Log in with your True/Slant account.
Here’s what I’m trying to figure out. He said he was “crying” in Argentina. Did he go to Argentina to break off the affair? Or did he go to *decide* if he was going to break off the affair?
OK, regardless of that, isn’t it possible that his plan was to go to Argentina, hook up with his mistress, and then come back and (continue) pretending like nothing was going on (hence the trail mix bull)?
And if that really was his ultimate plan … then wasn’t it his wife, in the final analysis, that outed him by saying that she didn’t know where he was?
“Crying” in Argentina? Who wrote his stuff, Andrew Lloyd Weber? It’s a “cryin” shame that his girl friend’s name wasn’t “Evita”
In response to another comment. See in context »I suspect he’s being scratched off a lot lists today. And thanks Bob for being upfront on this, I’ve heard too many talking heads today try and avoid the truth of this story by saying how sad it is for his family, blah blah blah.
This man has gone to great lengths to make political hay on the private lives of others. I for one am enjoying seeing him get his comeuppance.
Many thanks for your insights.The two platitudes we always hear about these delicate matters is that the deed is never as bad as the lying and the hypocricy. We have a lot of both here. Bob
In response to another comment. See in context »Here’s what I don’t get why do these southerners wrap themselves in God when the screw up? Why no “The Devil made me do it.” Was he in Argentina, a good catholic country, crying like Jimmy Lee Swaggart, in some suitable church, eyes to the sky asking forgiveness. Or was he crying in some restaurant like a little girl begging to get his mistress back.
You make an important point: The hardest moralist gets squishy soft and tearful when he’s caught with, we you know what…
In response to another comment. See in context »Bob
Actually, I think he was taking tango lessons
In response to another comment. See in context »Jenny Sanford totally outed him. Who says ‘I don’t know where he is and I’m not worried’ about not just a husband, but the Governor? She asked him to leave two weeks ago, wasn’t speaking with him, he was away from his family on Father’s Day…none of that says ‘working on reconciliation’ to me. Especially the part where he disappears on a love jaunt to Argentina.
Sanford’s political career is in a death spiral but with his wife’s brilliant and cutting statement today, a star is born.
That is a long long way to go to break off an affair. One could do that by telephone. So your guess might be right on the money.
As for Gov. Sanford’s wife, She had already separated from him and yet he still found it necessary to go so many thousand miles to see his mistress again, abandoning the family on Fathers Day.
I don’t like to be sanctimonious, but that’s pretty crummy.
Sanford’s only hope for public understanding is to claim he was addicted
Oh go ahead be sanctimonious. If not now, when?
In response to another comment. See in context »Sanctimony,
In response to another comment. See in context »The mark of the real true phony.
it”s part of life’s baloney,
For the one trick pony,
Sanctimony, Sanctimony, Sanctimony
“”Sanford’s only hope for public understanding is to claim he was addicted”"
Oh!!!! He was addicted alright!!! Don’t think drugs entered into it though!!
What’s the old saying?? People who live in glass houses shouldn’t be throwing rocks!!
For him, his family, the people of the State of South Carolina, his Argentine interest, et al, the best thing the good Mr. Sanford can do is to as quickly, quietly, and without fanfare as he can fade to black and not resurface in any form or fashion until a very, very long time has elapsed.
In response to another comment. See in context »I think the poor guy was addicted, to the immaturity that most of us carry into adulthood
In response to another comment. See in context »If you think Sanford was wrong to condemn Clinton’s affair then you shouldn’t condemn Sanford for his. Sure, he’s a hypocritcal jackass, but name a politician who isn’t. It appears to me that lying is what makes a politician qualified for his job. I guess the real problem here is that the lie was so artless.
According to what I’ve read, Sanford’s wife asked him two weeks ago to not contact her or the boys. That’s why he missed Father’s Day. And he took a government-issue car to the airport. Big deal. I’m sure Clinton pinched cigar money from the White House petty cash, too.
Would it have been better if he just announced a vacation instead of disappearing? Sure. But as far as scandals go, this one has to be one of the weakest.
You have put your finger on the REAL law of politics: “Don’t Get Caught!!!”
In response to another comment. See in context »[...] want to publish the letters, though it changed its mind when the globe-trotting governor had his breakdown this [...]