Video: The freaky deaky Mark Sanford press conference; Update: Wife told him to leave two weeks ago; Update: SC paper reprints e-mails to mistress
posted at 4:31 pm on June 24, 2009 by Allahpundit
Share on Facebook | printer-friendly
He could have been president, now he’s finished: Witness the power of the male libido. The full video’s here but I’m giving you the three-minute nitty gritty below. Watch the girl over his right shoulder smile as he admits the affair, thereby adding an extra element of freaky-deakiness to this debacle.
Under different circumstances I think he could have survived this, but it’s a quirk of our politics that voters don’t mind cheating as much as they do inept cheating. Infidelity makes you a cad; unannounced week-long disappearances and rambling confessional pressers about the new lady in your life makes you a cad and erratic, and Americans don’t dig erratic in their would-be presidents. Word on the street via Geraghty is that if he doesn’t resign the state legislature will move to impeach him. Not sure what the grounds would be — dereliction of duty for dropping off the map for a week, maybe? — but I doubt he’ll have to be pushed like Blagojevich was.
At the rate we’re going, I’m starting to think Obama might run unopposed in 2012. Exit question: Think The One’s happy that his big health-care infomercial tonight has to compete for headlines tomorrow with Sanford and Iran?
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
Update: An eloquent statement from Mrs. S. The money bit:
I believe wholeheartedly in the sanctity, dignity and importance of the institution of marriage. I believe that has been consistently reflected in my actions. When I found out about my husband’s infidelity I worked immediately to first seek reconciliation through forgiveness, and then to work diligently to repair our marriage. We reached a point where I felt it was important to look my sons in the eyes and maintain my dignity, self-respect, and my basic sense of right and wrong. I therefore asked my husband to leave two weeks ago.
This trial separation was agreed to with the goal of ultimately strengthening our marriage. During this short separation it was agreed that Mark would not contact us. I kept this separation quiet out of respect of his public office and reputation, and in hopes of keeping our children from just this type of public exposure. Because of this separation, I did not know where he was in the past week.
Update: Evidently this has been an open secret for some time because The State newspaper has been sitting on e-mails between Sanford and his lady friend since December. A sample:
Three and finally, while all the things above are all too true – at the same time we are in a hopelessly – or as you put it impossible – or how about combine and simply say hopelessly impossible situation of love. How in the world this lightening strike snuck up on us I am still not quite sure. As I have said to you before I certainly had a special feeling about you from the first time we met, but these feelings were contained and I genuinely enjoyed our special friendship and the comparing of all too many personal notes …
Er, how’d they get the e-mails?
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Blowback
Note from Hot Air management: This section is for comments from Hot Air's community of registered readers. Please don't assume that Hot Air management agrees with or otherwise endorses any particular comment just because we let it stand. A reminder: Anyone who fails to comply with our terms of use may lose their posting privilege.
Trackbacks/Pings
Trackback URL
Comments
Comment pages: « Previous 1 ... 3 4 5 6 Next »
Ah yes, the ‘Conservative’ ‘Christian’ hypocrite of the week. Last week’s ‘Promise-Keeper’ (not!) was funny but this guy is better.
Good news, all affairs have involved women recently.
Bonus: Charlie Crist is married and 102% heterosexual!
simplesimon on June 24, 2009 at 9:24 PM
If he changed parties, he could live a very long and very prosperous career.
Jackass.
JeffinOrlando on June 24, 2009 at 9:24 PM
I don’t know if I missed it or what, but I didn’t hear him profess an undying love for his wife. I did hear vague language about the other woman that leads me to believe she is his true hearts desire. I did hear him say he had fiduciary considerations and the consideration of his children that pressed on him to return, but not much about that whole love, honor and cherish the wife thing being the reason for his confession. Lots of apologies, but it feels more like what he is really sorry about is not being able to dump the wife and take up with the bimbo, without consequences.
church on June 24, 2009 at 9:24 PM
But Gov. Crist is not a conservative, so I will vote for Mr. Rubio in the primary.
Cindy Munford on June 24, 2009 at 9:25 PM
So aggravating! I think he has PREVIOUSLY been a great help to the cause of responsible, conservative government. And now he’s sadly (hopefully only temporarily) a sideshow.
I think he’s a great guy who made a terrible mistake. I come from a law enforcement background (can be hard on relationships as I am sure politics is). I have seen this happen and it’s just tragic.
You’d think that people would catch on and think before they destroy their whole lives and take out everyone all around them.
In a perfect world he should finish his term.Unfortunately though, I think the smell of blood is in the waters and the sharks will not let this rest. He may have to go in the end to let this get over already.
BTW, I think any chance at reconciliation died when he took the trip to Argentina when that was unnecessary since he and his wife were supposed to be repairing things.
Minorcan Maven on June 24, 2009 at 9:26 PM
Perhaps. But then, they do have a 20 year marriage and four youngish children. Many people, even when presented with this much ugly, often sublimate their own pain in order to rehabilitate and preserve their marriage. Of course, none of this is easy particularly for the harmed party…or their kids.
marybel on June 24, 2009 at 9:29 PM
Krauthammer had an interesting take tonight that this was a fairly deliberate political suicide. . . perhaps a type of breakdown; very bizarre behavior.
Willie on June 24, 2009 at 9:30 PM
Good smack down. Keep your powder dry and your passion high. We are going to have to fend off the all out assault on Gov Plain for the rest of our lives. But it will be worth it.
That which does not kill you only makes you stronger. Sarah Palin is a force of Nature.
Geochelone on June 24, 2009 at 9:31 PM
If his wife has 1 ounce of self respect she will divorce him. He needs to resign. I know all people make mistakes but you can’t run as a social conservative whose motto is do as I say not as I do. If he doesn’t resign then the Republican party is no better than the Democrats. They have no standards to be held to, therefore we must always hold social conservatives to a higher standard. You cannot abandon principle for political expediency.
church on June 24, 2009 at 9:31 PM
Michelle Malkin spanked Sanford on Hannity today. Sanford is a slime ball. But he is not lower than Edwards, no where near Edwards.
Geochelone on June 24, 2009 at 9:33 PM
Sanford is a narcissistic self-indulgent deceitful lying weasel and he deserves to be criticized and lampooned by everyone and then dumped by his wife, his state and his party. I have zero interest in his redemption and can’t imagine any scenario where he should be allowed to play a part in GOP politics on any level.
It should be pretty clear that he isn’t interested in redemption anyway. This was a marital version of “suicide by cop”. He wants out of this marriage –or thinks he does– and didn’t have the stones or the decency to confront the situation openly and deal with it properly so he pulls this little stunt and this gets him what he wants. With a nice dose of public humiliation for his wife thrown in as a kicker. Just in case she hadn’t gotten the message already.
Bennett on June 24, 2009 at 9:34 PM
I felt like at any moment he was going to give a shout out to his bimbo. What a puke.
church on June 24, 2009 at 9:39 PM
boring
moonbatkiller on June 24, 2009 at 9:40 PM
Bennet:
I don’t know, I got the impression that he was taking all the blame on himself, as he should.
I am not excusing the man, but I also don’t feel like I have the right to judge him. I leave that to God and his family and himself. I think he is judging himself pretty harshly right now, in full view of the world.
I just don’t like kicking a man when he is down. And this guy is down and out.
Terrye on June 24, 2009 at 9:51 PM
church:
Do you think an ugly divorce would make life easier or harder for his kids?
Terrye on June 24, 2009 at 9:53 PM
Ya know, if conservatives weren’t always putting themselves out there as hewing to a higher moral standard, and trying to get the rest of the folks to do so, this wouldn’t be such a big deal. Nor would Ensign. It’s the failure to walk what they talk . . . and since they can’t walk it, maybe they should stop all the social con talk and just concentrate on fiscal responsibility. To me, it’s not the affair that renders him unfit to continue in his position, it’s his astonishing lapse of judgment that allowed him to shake his security detail and leave not just the state, but the country, and try to keep it a secret.
califcon on June 24, 2009 at 9:53 PM
Good to know that he is this erratic. Better to know now than later, like Edwards pulled on the Dems.
AnninCA on June 24, 2009 at 9:54 PM
We keep Sanford.
They keep Letterman.
faraway on June 24, 2009 at 9:56 PM
Instapundit linked to this article at Slate by John Dickerson, an excerpt:
Terrye on June 24, 2009 at 9:57 PM
It will settle down. It’s probably especially hard to take for those hoping he would be the nominee in 2012. A lot can happen in a few years, people forgive.
Cindy Munford on June 24, 2009 at 10:07 PM
If I were a family friend I might feel that way. But I’m not and I look at it from the standpoint of someone who donates and works for GOP candidates and who wants to see the GOP find its voice and its mission and can compete in upcoming elections with good ideas and desirable candidates. Clearly Mark Sanford doesn’t share that point of view.
This isn’t some no name third tier congressman from Nebraska. Sanford has had a leadership position in the party, he was looked at for the VP spot on the 2008 ticket, been talked about as a 2012 Presidential candidate and has been popping up on talk shows these last few months to provide what was supposed to be principled opposition to Obama’s stimulus plan. And the whole time he’s carrying on this tawdry little affair while his wife tries to keep their marriage together and his staff is left to lie and cover up for him. I’m just not seeing the need for any sympathy here.
Bennett on June 24, 2009 at 10:13 PM
Not that my opinions count for much but…
Mark… Move to South America…and live with the shame.
jerrytbg on June 24, 2009 at 10:14 PM
Edwards is lower than Sanford, that’s for sure. But I would suggest that some Democrats are even lower than Edwards:
Bill Clinton (Rape – Juanita Broderick and others)
Ted Kennedy (Murder – Chappaqwidick)
Norwegian on June 24, 2009 at 10:16 PM
Cindy,
I have much respect for you.
On this issue… I disagree.
jerrytbg on June 24, 2009 at 10:17 PM
Whether he was or wasn’t, he refused to end the affair. Kicking him out for two weeks only gave him permission to continue screwing her without guilt. Doormat.
You don’t have control over what anyone else does. If your spouse wants to cheat they will. You don’t need to give them permission to.
Once you learn that they are cheating THEN you have choices. You can control what YOU do. No one else.
You may CHOOSE to end your M, others will choose differently.
Giving your husband tacit permission to screw his mistress is not protecting oneself. It’s acting like a doormat.
Again, telling your spouse not to contact you until after their affair is over, is not the same thing as saying you are OK w/ it. Obviously she wasn’t OK w/ it, other wise she’d never have asked him to leave.
She has NO control over whether or not he continues the affair. However, she can control whether or not she wants to watch him pine for another woman under her nose.
And I was not the one who used the word “watching” – you did.
Yes, I know. And when I saw I was misunderstood I attempted to clarify what I meant.
Also, she did not tell him not to contact her till he ended the affair just not to contact them during this “short separation” which gave him more time to screw his bimbo.
We don’t know exactly what she said. Which was why I said, “If she asked him to leave until he ended the affair to protect herself from his affair/drama/nuttiness it would be wise.
Especially in view of the fact that most affairs end in 2 years.
Now, she is under no obligation to “wait” for him. If after a month or two, she is ready to move on, fine.
The thing w/ affairs is that the betrayed spouse has not had all the time to prepare emotionally to let go of their spouse. They are usually kept in the dark for a while before they find out. Not everyone is ready the moment…or even 5 months afterwards to D their spouse. Some people need more time before they are ready to move on.
I don’t see taking your time before you make a life changing decision as being a doormat. I see it as being wise.
But, it’s ok w/ me if you disagree.
If a person wants to save their M when adultery has taken place then it is a good idea to understand them.
Right. She’s a doormat.
Clarrifying again… The word “them” was a poor choice of words. I should have said, “it”…meaning understanding the nature of “adultery”.
Knowledge is power.
They are still a doormat and when the marriage breaks up anyway, they will have less dignity and lost time.
Perhaps they will feel that way.
Or perhaps they will take comfort in the fact that they tried everything they could to save their marriage.
People don’t always get what they want. Her husband didn’t change, didn’t come back to her because he wanted her, didn’t come back because of the kids. He came back because he probably had second thoughts about his political career and he got caught.
It doesn’t matter WHY he ends the affair. The only thing that matters to a betrayed spouse who WANTS to try to recover their M is that the cheating spouse agrees to end the affair, go to counseling, and agrees to set up boundaries in order to protect their marriage…or whatever else the betrayed spouse needs them to do.
A doormat wouldn’t have an XY and Z. A doormat would just say, I’ll take you back and accept whatever behavior you want to give me.
Marsh on June 24, 2009 at 10:26 PM
Here’s my question: for eight years, this man has been able to keep this secret from all who knew him, from his closest aids, friends, etc.? Please. Somebody knew, at some point in these last eight years, where he was going, what he was doing. You don’t just hop on a plane out of the country, come back, and no one ask the question, “hey man, how was your trip?”. At some point, someone may have been suspicious because his phone wouldn’t pick up for a couple days. Where was the friend to say, “hey guy, this isn’t a good idea.” “Mark, don’t even think about spending time alone with another woman, much less getting a plane to see one on another continent.” My point is this: Mark Sanford is a scumbag, but so are any and all of his worthless companions who knew what was happening and did or said nothing.
“He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm.” Proverbs 13:20
Send_Me on June 24, 2009 at 10:38 PM
I am pretty sure that he is no longer electable but Terrye was so upset at the lack of people’s sympathy. I think Newt is a brilliant man but there is way way too much water under that bridge for me to vote for him. My guess is that it will be the same for Gov. Sanford.
Cindy Munford on June 24, 2009 at 10:54 PM
Oh come on guys. Why the long faces? If he actually had a chance to win, the GOP wasn’t going to end up running him.
We’ll end up with another shellacking with either Huckabee or the George Hamiltion/John McCain clone out of Florida.
Just think of the GOP’s electoral chances in the immortal words of Bill Paxton’s Hudson, from Aliens: We’re on an express elevator to Hell. Going Down.
austinnelly on June 24, 2009 at 10:58 PM
I’m a holdout that someone alerted his soon to be ex-wife…
ddon’t anyone loose sight of the fact that he has just told his 4 sons “it’s OK to cheat”…
If we as conservatives don’t take and maintain that moral high-ground…
We deserve to be forgotten in that dusty bin of history.
jerrytbg on June 24, 2009 at 11:00 PM
If the picture posted earlier is recent, his sons are pretty young. One still in his mom’s arms. It’s probably his “excuse”, the wife spends more time with the children then him.
Cindy Munford on June 24, 2009 at 11:06 PM
Admittedly, I didn’t catch that part…
There can be no sympathy …the man’s a cad…and I reject him.
jerrytbg on June 24, 2009 at 11:07 PM
Why are we blaming HIM. Everyone knows all men as dogs. Therefor 100% of the blame for every affair rests on the woman.
Jeff from WI on June 24, 2009 at 11:12 PM
Agreed, I am having a hard time picturing who in the world he could run against that would make me vote for him. Especially in the primary. I try to never say never. Like austinnelly was pointing out you never know what your choices are going to be. I don’t want Charlie Crist to be my next senator but if it’s between him and the crazy Dems who are running, Mr. Crist will have me vote. But first I am going to donate and vote for Mr. Rubio in the primary.
Cindy Munford on June 24, 2009 at 11:14 PM
Now you’ve done it.
Cindy Munford on June 24, 2009 at 11:14 PM
The Slate piece is a good read. And it’s good to see a decent liberal heart.
GW’s win in 2000 unleashed a cannibalism. I think GW did win; I voted for him twice, but I can see why Gore’s voters didn’t like or accept it. If the situation had been reversed I’d have probably felt the same way.
Dickerson is so right here. All the camps are opposed to one another. Romney’s fans won’t vote for Palin, Palin devotees won’t vote for anyone but her, etc.
Governor Sanford didn’t have a big following, but I liked him a lot. And I still do. I’m not in any position to judge him.
I just saw the whole press conference and he was honest. I wish him and his family the best.
Eirenic Rebel on June 24, 2009 at 11:16 PM
More than likely you’re right… it’s still despicable.
My Mother had 9 pregnancies… five live births…we’re all still here.
My Father stood by her through all of it …PLUS…many illnesses …He never wavered…
He taught me the value of loyalty…
jerrytbg on June 24, 2009 at 11:17 PM
Unlike Hillary Clinton,this woman appears to have self respect and put family first.
The more that is revealed,the more I suspect she will move on without him.
This was an ignorant,selfish move perpetrated by this Husband,Father,and Governor of SC.
We should expect more out of our elected officials.
He certainly is human and we all make mistakes.
But we should have to pay for those mistakes also.
He needs to step down and the GOP should show that it has higher standards than democrats who let Klansman,adulterers,crooks,and men who leave women to drown while they cover their a$$es run their party.
Baxter Greene on June 24, 2009 at 11:20 PM
I don’t know how old you are but I think women today try to be everything to everybody. The down side of the feminist movement, be the best mother in the world and be totally available to the husband. Four kids is a big family in today’s world, but not when I was a kid. I think expectations were a touch more realistic back then but maybe I have my rose colored 20/20 hindsight glasses on.
Cindy Munford on June 24, 2009 at 11:23 PM
Than you have no moral foundation to live by…
jerrytbg on June 24, 2009 at 11:25 PM
I didn’t mean I wasn’t able to call what he did right or wrong but that I couldn’t judge the state of grace of his soul. And I’m agnostic. Go figure.
I tried H/A on and off a few times, but it’s better left to you and yours.
Sincerely and without sarcasm,
ER
Eirenic Rebel on June 24, 2009 at 11:32 PM
Perhaps one can judge the action but not the person.
PackerBronco on June 24, 2009 at 11:37 PM
We can’t know Sanford’s heart, but we can make a more informed judgment based on actions. I’m praying he and his family can be restored, but he’s out of consideration for any GOP leadership post – especially POTUS candidate.
You just can’t display such lousy judgment at this stage in life, while handling gubernatorial duties, and be taken seriously. This is just like a Pastor with a zipper problem… love his family and rehab him if you can, keep him in the church if he truly repents, but he’s lost the “authority of a righteous pulpit” permanently.
T J Green on June 24, 2009 at 11:42 PM
Yup…Bennett, you are right on…your comment at 10:13 is also excellent.
funky chicken on June 24, 2009 at 11:54 PM
Some people never quite grow up. Having a friend that suffers perennial grass is greener syndrome, I feel for Sanford’s family. If he was that unhappy with his marriage, he should have manned up and ended it. Seems more like he wanted to have his cake and eat it too. Just glad that he had this little break down before being nominated for a higher office.
coyoterex on June 25, 2009 at 12:12 AM
He wants out of this marriage –or thinks he does– and didn’t have the stones or the decency to confront the situation openly and deal with it properly so he pulls this little stunt and this gets him what he wants. With a nice dose of public humiliation for his wife thrown in as a kicker. Just in case she hadn’t gotten the message already.
Bennett on June 24, 2009 at 9:34 PM
Yup…Bennett, you are right on…your comment at 10:13 is also excellent.
funky chicken on June 24, 2009 at 11:54 PM
Seems to be going around alot lately. My daughter and I were just discussing Jon and Kate, its very sad for any family to go thru this. At first we were sympathetic towards Jon then he drives up in sports car says he is excited about his new life . That he`s only thirty two has his whole life ahead of him.WTF?
LSUMama on June 25, 2009 at 12:17 AM
If his wife has 1 ounce of self respect she will divorce him. He needs to resign. I know all people make mistakes but you can’t run as a social conservative whose motto is do as I say not as I do. If he doesn’t resign then the Republican party is no better than the Democrats. They have no standards to be held to, therefore we must always hold social conservatives to a higher standard. You cannot abandon principle for political expediency.
church on June 24, 2009 at 9:31 PM
Thats harsh, she may sacrifice her self respect for her children. Some people do put their lifes on hold to give their children a better foothold.
LSUMama on June 25, 2009 at 12:39 AM
I propose that “Hiking the Appalachian Trail” be the new euphemism for extra-marital sex.
beekiller on June 25, 2009 at 12:42 AM
I have not read all the way through this thread yet, but a thought occurred to me (and I am not normally a conspiracy theorist) did the Republicans unleash this controversy to upstage Obama’s infomercial tonight? Kinda like the timing of the Palin announcement during the campaign? GENIUS if this was somehow coordinated and Gov Sanford I salute you for falling on the sword for the cause. MWAHAHAHA
alohapundit on June 25, 2009 at 1:15 AM
P.S. Beck made me type the last post double-MWAHAHAHA
alohapundit on June 25, 2009 at 1:16 AM
Sanford has got to be the DUMBEST bastid in the Universe. The fruit cake goes missing and ends up on Drudge. Now that the world is watching he admits to going to Argentina on Fathers day while leaving his wife and sons wonder WTF is happening.
Resign you stupid blank. Get out of my party. All this for some tang.
Geochelone on June 25, 2009 at 1:50 AM
Oh, you mean Larry Sinclair? Google it!
sarahpalinfan99 on June 25, 2009 at 4:02 AM
you have to admit, if he was a black democrat it would not have made the news at all.
Nothing ever happened to Jesse jackson.
workingforpigs on June 25, 2009 at 4:09 AM
Just another Alinsky tactic.
Rule #4. “Make the enemy live up to its own book of rules. You can kill them with this, for they can no more obey their own rules than the Christian church can live up to Christianity.” http://www.crossroad.to/Quotes/communism/alinsky.htm
Many liberal icons including FDR, John F Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., Bobby Kennedy and Bill Clinton had affairs. Their affairs did not invalidate their political achievements or stances. Don’t fall for the liberal MSM Alinsky traps.
sarahpalinfan99 on June 25, 2009 at 4:16 AM
La Argentina Mammacita must be muy caliente!
sarahpalinfan99 on June 25, 2009 at 4:30 AM
I didn’t see Sanford as a national candidate, but I really liked him for his fiscal-conservative chops. I’m sorry to lose him. I think he probably needs to resign.
I don’t know where the affair stands because the presser left specific questions unanswered. But clearly, his work is at home and not in the SC governor’s mansion.
I may be wrong, but as I stood with my stone near this sinner, I found myself among those who Christ was writing about in the dirt, so I dropped it and left. I saw a guy taking the first halting steps to getting his life back on track. I’m content to let him take care of his problems.
In contrast, I’ve yet to see in Clinton, Edwards, and too many other liberals, the kind of sorrow I saw yesterday with Sanford. I still have stones with the names of Clinton and Edwards on them.
BuckeyeSam on June 25, 2009 at 4:45 AM
FIFY ;)
sarahpalinfan99 on June 25, 2009 at 4:47 AM
Stay tuned for part II
Uh, your sample of the emails does not reveal what other samples reveal
Sample 1:
Sample one is the yuck factor of baying at the moon
Sample 2:
Sample 2 is this hypocrite scavenging Pauls’s letter to the Corinthians to twist Paul’s admonitions to the Corinthian Christians to behave in a Christlike manner into a set of rules for extra marital lovers.
Corinthians were considered the most decadent of the ancient Roman empire. If a Roman citizen wanted to describe someone as decadent, he called them a “corinthian”. That is why so much of Paul’s letters to Corinth were full of behavioural advice
Sample 3:
This explains Andrew Sullivan’s empathy. Whodda guessed both Sullivan and Sanford wanted Chamberlain to drop his ‘ambitions’ and run for the prize
Note Sanford calls the vows ‘ambitions’. So freudian
entagor on June 25, 2009 at 5:01 AM
If he had one ounce of respect he’d save his family and the nation the embarrassment and would have driven off a cliff.
Jeff from WI on June 25, 2009 at 5:23 AM
This is sad.
SueM on June 25, 2009 at 5:36 AM
and why was the press sitting on them? were they waiting until just before the next election… “Mark Foley” style?
BadBrad on June 25, 2009 at 7:12 AM
According to gop12.com, the affair was discovered just as he began his stimulus fight. Whatever he did, we’ve lost a principled fighter against Obama’s creeping fascism.
promachus on June 25, 2009 at 7:14 AM
Gee, another male in politics having to explain his marital infidelity at a press conference. Yet another political suicide in all it’s glory.
Color me shocked. [/s]
And before I get the “….but but but but it takes TWO for infidelity. What about HER?????”, when the other cheater is an elected official, I’ll arouse interest in her (or him).
I recall posting something along these lines last week. Amazing how stupid people can be and I really feel awful for the families of these morons having to face public humiliation. Divorce is so much easier.
Renwaa on June 25, 2009 at 7:27 AM
+1
I just read Jenny Sanford’s bio at the SC state government website. There’s several pictures of her too. Jenny is the smarter, and by far the more attractive of the two. I’m still in shock that this guy threw his family away. I’m also still disgusted that the only time he seemed repentant in his press conference was when he talked about/to some guy friend in the audience, not when he talked about his wife and four sons.
Freudian, and how damned embarrassing for a guy to have created some kind of weird identification with a character in a truly craptacular chick flick.
He and Klavan should become fast friends. They seem to find role models/deep philosophical meaning in Hollyweird dreck.
funky chicken on June 25, 2009 at 7:30 AM
He could have been President? Yeah, right…..so could I. After Jimmuh Carter and Bubba Clinton, I think it’ll be a cold day in hell before another Southern Governor gets elected President again. Governor Huckabee, you’ve got no chance, so don’t even bother. Once the Messiah rewrites the Constitution and becomes Czar of American, there won’t be such a thing as ‘President’ anymore, so it all be moot, yo.
olesparkie on June 25, 2009 at 7:40 AM
Hmmmmmmmmmm. I see something of a pattern here.
If you are caught having a affair and your name is Mark Sanford, you get up live on TV, admit it, and face the consequences of your actions.
If you get caught having an affair and your name is Jimmy Swaggert, you get up live on TV and blubber and weep like a girly man on how you have sinnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnned!
If you look like you may get caught having an affair, and your name is Ted Kennedy, you solve the problem by driving the girl into a bay and drowning her, then make up some BS story about you having a traffic accident that you can’t remember too well and you end up getting away with 1st Degree Murder because of your family name.
Funny how things work when dealing with the same issue.
pilamaye on June 25, 2009 at 8:14 AM
Now that was unfair. We all know Capt.Ted was on assignment at the time of the unfortunate demise of his first mate, Mary Jo, aboard the ill fated mission on the USS Oldsmobile sub.
Jeff from WI on June 25, 2009 at 8:20 AM
And so the suddenly-investigative media — yes, that same media which was intensely UNintrested in Barack Obama’s background — will spare no expense, leave no stone unturned, to find Sanford’s mystery woman.
Of course.
Paul_in_NJ on June 25, 2009 at 8:33 AM
The Lieutenant Governor knew. He’s the one who made a big stink about Sanford being unavailable and asking where he was at.
True_King on June 25, 2009 at 8:38 AM
Men and women make mistakes every day. I feel sorry for everyone concerned including Gov. Sanford. He let down his family and the people of SC. He didn’t let me down though. I’m not from SC. So what if he was considered to be a GOP front-runner or whatever? Now he’s not. If he were the last GOP standing, I’d be upset. If he sold secrets to Al Qaeda or the Chinese, I’d be upset. There are other highly qualified members of the GOP that can be front runners.
He doesn’t seem like a playboy to me and I don’t know why, but I just feel sorry for him. Not as sorry as I feel for his wife and sons however. I want to be clear about that.
Oink on June 25, 2009 at 8:39 AM
First the divorce, then the next woman, Mark.
Idiot.
profitsbeard on June 25, 2009 at 9:06 AM
The man has betrayed everyone in his life. Except his mistress. How long will it be before he betrays her?
csdeven on June 25, 2009 at 9:14 AM
Ahh..Ummm…Ahh…Umm…Ahhh…Ahhh…Ahh..
Geez, be a man, don’t throw your mistress under the bus by helping to identify her, just die already!
Jeff from WI on June 25, 2009 at 9:26 AM
You can’t fix stupid.
drjohn on June 25, 2009 at 9:29 AM
You know what I like about Blago? He wasn’t cheating on his wife. (That and the poetry.)
Sanford should try some poetry.
Disturb the Universe on June 25, 2009 at 9:46 AM
Admittedly, I haven’t followed this that closely. But the main thing that strikes me about this is that it revealed Sanford to be a weak man.
Again, I have not researched deeply, but I would guess that things have not gotten that hot politically in South Carolina. His apparent strength on rejecting Stimulus money was not challenged that mightily. So it does not appear that proved any real strength either.
So perhaps we were spared finding out that he was too weak under pressure. Midway into the 2012 campaign would be a lousy time to come to that realization.
Just a thought.
connertown on June 25, 2009 at 10:15 AM
Sanford is really a victim of an evil plot…
Obama is to blame for Sanford’s fall…
Those ears are really interstellar communication devices.
Mr. Joe on June 25, 2009 at 10:24 AM
but you can blackmail stupid if he cooperates
Politics is full of stupid, many of whom are useful idiots or idiots on a leash
Somebody wanted this stupid out. Perhaps he had used up his usefulness. He was so stupid, his demise was orchestrated. IMHO someone did us a favor, but the fact this stupid was kept on the leash so long and promoted as the best and brightest is a scary warning of the evil manipulation that threads throughout politics.
Politics brings out the evil side of the power hungry and their self centered puppets are like race horses, groomed, shiney and full of horsemanure
It is true the dems keep their stupid in power, but the dem base is happily a top down group and trust the strategy of their puppetmasters
Conservatives are a distrusting grassroots group and resent being force fed by an elitist cadre
entagor on June 25, 2009 at 10:57 AM
Mitt, you magnificent bastard!
BPD on June 25, 2009 at 10:58 AM
This entire episode is heartbreaking. I unfortunately read the emails between Sanford and his lover. As a wife, and a possessive one at that, the thought of what Mrs. Sanford must be going through, makes me sick to my stomach. As a woman, and mother, I believe she did the right thing for her and her children by putting him out. I am not sure if I could or would be able to work through the damage he has wreaked on their marriage. Not only the sexual infidelity, but also the love and longing in the emails would eat at me for the rest of my life. Depressing as Hell.
TXMomof3 on June 25, 2009 at 10:59 AM
There are worst things, he could have stated he was moving to the democratic party.
workingforpigs on June 25, 2009 at 11:08 AM
This entire episode is heartbreaking. I unfortunately read the emails between Sanford and his lover. As a wife, and a possessive one at that, the thought of what Mrs. Sanford must be going through, makes me sick to my stomach. As a woman, and mother, I believe she did the right thing for her and her children by putting him out. I am not sure if I could or would be able to work through the damage he has wreaked on their marriage. Not only the sexual infidelity, but also the love and longing in the emails would eat at me for the rest of my life. Depressing as Hell.
TXMomof3 on June 25, 2009 at 10:59 AM
Yes, it’s the love part of an affair that hurts the most for betrayed wives. Where as it is the sex part for betrayed husbands.
Most M do survive affairs. I think it’s as high as 80%.
Unfortunately, most do not recover them….meaning they stay married, but their marriages never thrive.
Affairs SUCK.
Marsh on June 25, 2009 at 11:44 AM
New JFK book due out 7/7: American Adulterer, by Jed Mercurio.
Good timing.
Akzed on June 25, 2009 at 12:33 PM
Ah, we now know the name, age, and physical attributes.
She’s a beautiful and very smart woman.
*ack* The worst. :)
AnninCA on June 25, 2009 at 1:43 PM
I am just so disappointed…
The only solace I take is that at least he didn’t do the whole press conference with his wife standing by him and attempting to salvage his political career.
He seemed like an honest and sincere screw up.
Of course, we can’t have this kind of screw up as a political leader- no matter how much the Democrats seem to think it’s okay.
That’s it… I was tempted by the Sanford libertarian dream- but I realize now I should never have strayed from my original loyalties.
I say that in 2012 we run either the strait-laced too perfect Mormon- or the rough authentic backwoods fire-eating beauty queen. At least neither of them will have these kinds of problems.
Heck lets run them both as a President/VP ticket- see if we can make the Democrats all choke themselves to death from misplaced outrage.
Which one as which? At this point I really don’t care.
Sackett on June 25, 2009 at 2:47 PM
Mid-life crises are real.
AnninCA on June 25, 2009 at 2:49 PM
a href=”http://newsbizarre.com/2009/06/maria-belen-chapur-photo-mark-stanford.html”>Was she worth it Mark? I hear she dumped him, so perhaps there is something to the wise Latina argument after all.
h/t: Southern Appeal on the Latina comment!
Mr. Joe on June 25, 2009 at 3:05 PM
Was she worth it Mark? I hear she dumped him, so perhaps there is something to the wise Latina argument after all.
h/t: Southern Appeal on the Latina comment!
Mr. Joe on June 25, 2009 at 3:06 PM
Obviously his own Lietenant Gov got the info out rather than let the donks do it come the next big election cycle.
clnurnberg on June 25, 2009 at 3:46 PM
I have a suggestion for Sanford (in light of the fact that Congressmen have been jumping party ship).
The day after tomorrow – Friday, after the liberal hypocrites in the media have been harping on it for three (3) days – he should announce the following at a press conference:
“I have been thinking about this for a long time, and I have come to the conclusion that my heart really is in the Democrat Party.
I have discussed this at length with my dearest lovely and faithful wife and we both decided that this is the best thing for us at this time.
We are simply tired of being maligned as those evil Republicans who don’t respect people’s personal lives.
My wife and I have reconciled with each other and we both agree that we just want to be left alone at this time and therefore we thank the media for giving us our space, because afterall, sex is a personal matter to be decided between two consulting adults.
I will be still be in good terms with the lady I saw in Argentina, an issue that me and my wife have discussed at length, that, as long as it is a platonic relationship, that will be fine.
From what I have seen in the Democrat Party this should be fine, since they are more accepting of such personal issues, and, I do appreciate their understanding.
I gather this for example, from the Democrat party’s handling of Bill Clinton, because although he lied under oath about his extramarital relationship while in office, he did not get impeached, so I expect the same treatment, considering especially, that although I had my staff lie for me, nobody was under oath to say the truth.
So in my best judgment, me and my wife believe that this is the best for us, AT THIS TIME.”
“We thank you for respecting our private lives.”
“God bless America!”
“Thank you.”
“Thank you…huh? No we will not be taking any questions.”
*cheers and clapping*
“Thank you. Thank you very much.”
*Sanford and wife walk away holding hands*
Mad Dog on June 25, 2009 at 4:00 PM
This is a good deal. He is out before people have millions down the toilet like in Edwards case. Edwards could have won a few more primaries and actuall been up there in the tens of millions before elimination.
Sanford can’t run even if he salvages his marriage.
seven on June 26, 2009 at 9:18 AM
Would the MSM aks Michelle Obama about Barry’s gal pal Vera Baker?
Did Michelle handle that herself?
It gets covered in London papers but not American?
seven on June 26, 2009 at 9:28 AM
Comment pages: « Previous 1 ... 3 4 5 6 Next »