The Mark Sanford files: It’s 10 p.m. Do you know where your governor is?
June 25, 2009 at 11:00 am by Dan Sullivan
The most dangerous predator on the Appalachian Trail: The Argentinian cougar
By Dan Sullivan
PoHo contributor
I love a good political scandal. There’s just something about the revelation that those we elect to office are regular human beings – susceptible to all the same temptations and lapses in judgment as the rest of us.
Naturally though, I prefer scandals that involve Democrats. The Blago scandal was one-in-a-million. And I think only the Bill Clinton-Monica Lewinsky scandal could top Gary Hart’s 1988 romp on a boat called “Monkey Business.”
It’s not so much fun to read about Republicans breaking their word and compromising their good morals. Especially rising stars such as South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford.
Sanford is exactly the kind of conservative that many Republicans have been hoping will take the reigns of the party. His political views are, in many ways, in line with those of the great Barry Goldwater. Not only did he single-handedly battle the Fed in an effort to stop Obama’s spendulus money from touching his state, but he’s against preemptive military actions, and he passes most of the conservative litmus tests – pro-life, etc. Essentially, he’s the sane version of Ron Paul.
But, as of now, it appears that dream is over for Sanford. Following his sudden and bizarre disappearance for several days from his post as governor, Sanford revealed that he had gone to Argentina to visit a woman with whom he admitted to having a year-long affair.
Even if he finishes out his term as governor, it will take considerable political skill for Sanford to make a sufficient recovery to have any real hope of running for president. Or anything else, for that matter.
That kind of skill is a rare gift bestowed only to guys like Rudy Giuliani and Newt Gingrich – guys who still manage to remain politically relevant despite the fact that they have more skeletons in their closets than a haunted house.
The Sanford story came on the heels of the somewhat less talked-about admission of Nevada Sen. John Ensign to having an affair with a campaign staffer.
Ensign, like Sanford, was considered a star of the Republican Party until news of the affair came about. Unlike Sanford, however, Ensign is a social conservative of the evangelical mold and staunch advocate for preserving the sanctity of traditional marriage. He helped lead the charge against Bill Clinton, calling for the former president’s resignation in the wake of the Lewinsky scandal. All this, of course, makes Ensign’s affair appear to be especially hypocritical.
I’m sure many of my liberal friends will be quick to pounce on both the Ensign and Sanford stories as the beginning of the end of the Republican Party. This is nonsense of course. If the Democrats can survive Eliot Spitzer and Rod Blaojevich, the Republicans can surely survive these goofballs.
I think it’s key to point out that Sanford and Ensign both had the good sense to admit their mistakes rather than lie about them. Granted, Sanford apparently did try to cover his tracks, coming up with assorted excuses having to do with the need to unwind from the pressures of being South Carolina’s chief executive. But still, he knew the jig was up and it was time to come clean.
That’s more than Bill Clinton can say about his own response to the Lewinsky affair – lying about his actions for months before weaseling his way out of a legal mess. And Blago, to this day, claims he’s innocent of the charges for which the Illinois legislature felt there was sufficient proof to have him impeached.
Sanford and Ensign both demonstrated bad judgment. But they admitted their errors. Even Eliot Spitzer, as bad as his sins were, admitted what he did and sought forgiveness. There is something to be said for the fact that these men appear to be genuinely remorseful. Blago and Clinton could take some notes.
