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Word: Oh, those Southern lawmakers and their affairs

Sunday, June 28th, 2009

On June 23, South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford admitted to an affair with an Argentinian woman, following in a long line of less-than-faithful Southern politicos.

“It’s gonna hurt, and we’ll let the chips fall where they may. … The bottom line is this: I’ve been unfaithful to my wife. … I spent the last five days of my life crying in Argentina.”

— Sanford during a June 23 press conference

“There were times when I was praying and when I felt I was doing things that were wrong. But I was still doing them. … I look back on those as periods of weakness and periods that I’m … not proud of.”"

— Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich admits his infidelity in a 2007 radio interview with “Focus on the Family

“I told my wife that I had a liaison with another woman, and I asked for her forgiveness. … You cannot beat me up more than I have already beaten up myself.”

— Former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards, in a 2008 statement about his affair

Missing persons update: Gov. Sanford found (sort of)

Tuesday, June 23rd, 2009

Has South Carolina’s missing governor been located at last? One of his spokesmen has gone on the record, issuing a statement that Mark Sanford, who was completely out of touch for five days, was off “hiking along the Appalachian Trail” and will return to work tomorrow.

Which, if true, doesn’t quite answer the question of why his wife said he needed time to do some writing, or why she didn’t know exactly where he was, or why he’d elect to “hike along the Appalachian Trail” on Father’s Day Weekend.

It’s still a mystery as to why authorities revealed that they had tracked his cell phone to the Atlanta area — as it’s plain to see, the trail doesn’t exactly start in the metro region. And as Josh Marshall over at TPM points out, the fact that authorities were even worried enough to track down his phone in the first place raises questions.

(more…)