Awful: Sanford’s wife learned of affair by discovering letter from mistress; Update: I won’t resign, says Sanford
posted at 4:40 pm on June 26, 2009 by Allahpundit
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He seemed so raw and tormented at Wednesday’s presser and so authentic about the grief he felt that I simply assumed he’d gone to his wife after he first realized he was in love and tearfully confessed the whole thing. Nope. File this away with the lies he told his staff about where he was going and the fact that he was prepared to spend fully 10 days incommunicado in Buenos Aires had the media not started making noise about his absence. Oh, and did I mention that Mrs. S now claims she told him to end the affair — before he upped and left for Argentina?
If 50 percent said he should quit yesterday, figure it’ll be upwards of 65 once this report, replete with details about a weeping Jenny, starts making the rounds.
South Carolina first lady Jenny Sanford says she discovered her husband’s affair in January when she found a letter to the governor from his mistress.
Jenny Sanford told The Associated Press on Friday she told him to end the affair and was shocked this week when she found out he’d gone to Argentina to see his mistress. She says she believed Gov. Mark Sanford had gone somewhere to work on writing a book…
She wept as she displayed her boys’ stellar report cards and said she most worries about how they’re being affected by the scandal. Jenny Sanford says she plans to take them out of the state for the weekend.
Byron York has six hard questions for Sanford, including whether his supposedly tortured soul ever planned to come clean had he not been caught at the airport by a reporter. Let me add a seventh: Whom does Sanford suspect of leaking the e-mails to his mistress? The State newspaper claimed they got copies of the messages from an anonymous tipster in December; Jenny Sanford now claims she stumbled upon some sort of letter from Maria in January. Hmmm. If she’s not the tipster herself, did the tipster also forward Maria’s letters to her?
Here’s the clip of his cabinet meeting this morning; the first four minutes are more than enough. Evidently he’s been thinking hard about King David and Psalms. Shouldn’t he have been thinking about the Ten Commandments, say, a year ago? Click the image to watch.
Update: Come on, Mark. Hit the road.
“I remain committed to rebuilding the trust that has been committed to me over the next 18 months, and it is my hope that I am able to follow the example set by David in the Bible – who after his fall from grace humbly refocused on the work at hand,” Sanford said in a statement following a meeting with his Cabinet. “By doing so, I will ultimately better serve in every area of my life, and I am committed to doing so.”
Asked by POLITICO if the statement indicated that Sanford would not resign, his spokesman, Joel Sawyer, emailed: “Correct.”
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Sheesh. What a dirtbag.
TheUnrepentantGeek on June 26, 2009 at 4:42 PM
Happens often.
newton on June 26, 2009 at 4:43 PM
from the headline comments.
TexasDan on June 26, 2009 at 4:44 PM
Once I found out he used states funds, I changed me mind to the “he should resign” side. It is clear the citizens of SC should not trust this man. So Sad.
WashJeff on June 26, 2009 at 4:45 PM
I’m not sure a humble person would ever compare himself to King David….
dtestard on June 26, 2009 at 4:47 PM
The only reason I would like to see this scumball keep his job is so his WIFE can take him to the cleaners for alimony and child support.
Otherwise, sell his pre-corpse to medical science and take what you can get for it.
Laura in Maryland on June 26, 2009 at 4:48 PM
Oh, and will his latina lover still have any interest when he is broke, disgraced, and no longer forbidden fruit?
Laura in Maryland on June 26, 2009 at 4:49 PM
I read somewhere -looking now- that they think the emails came from the ex-husband of the mistress. Could he get access to her computer? Or would he be able to guess at her pw and read her email? and forward?
mngirl on June 26, 2009 at 4:50 PM
Weak.
the_nile on June 26, 2009 at 4:50 PM
I don’t think any part of this trip is as bad as not planning to be, and not being, around for Father’s Day to allow your children to enjoy and celebrate you and vice versa.
misslizzi on June 26, 2009 at 4:51 PM
Once again, as in all these scandals, you get past all the rationalization and BS, I ask: Does he hold his commitments to his constituency at a higher value than to his wife and children?
The answer to that question tells you exactly what he should do and what the people of his state should demand.
csdeven on June 26, 2009 at 4:51 PM
True. It was stupid. He is using the Bible as cover for his own weakness.
This precedent is a bad one. Obama is on the verge of comparing himself to Jesus.
portlandon on June 26, 2009 at 4:52 PM
She got 2 kids , maybe they gave them to their father.
the_nile on June 26, 2009 at 4:52 PM
You’re offending dirtbags.
The Race Card on June 26, 2009 at 4:53 PM
Steepled hands. He’s not sorry one bit. More accurately, he’s only sorry he got caught. Lousy SOB.
spmat on June 26, 2009 at 4:53 PM
No sympathy for the devil from me. Some of us still take oaths. It appears that Mrs Sanford did. I wonder how many times she could have broken that oath and chose not to. I wonder if Mr Sanford cares.
Limerick on June 26, 2009 at 4:54 PM
I’ll say it again…this is the height of arrogance and stupidity…a really bad combination. He definitely needs to step down. I saw a doctor on FNC copare MJ and Sanford. She said it was a case of narcissism with both of them. The “I can do anything and not get caught or cause any harm” fantasy.
Deanna on June 26, 2009 at 4:54 PM
Does this dude have an old Winnebago parked out in the desert some place so he can cook “ice”?
Editor on June 26, 2009 at 4:55 PM
I’m not sure Jenny is 100% sincere.
Falz on June 26, 2009 at 4:55 PM
Give the guy a break, everyone knows that guys only cheat and lie and destroy their marriage and family because the wife is a coldhearted shrew and witholds sex from him! Or at least that’s what I learned on one of the other Sanford threads…
thevastlane on June 26, 2009 at 4:56 PM
Dude
Finish your term and get the bleep outta here
Defector01 on June 26, 2009 at 4:56 PM
No but soon , Mark-n-Levi’s.
the_nile on June 26, 2009 at 4:58 PM
Ok, the Sanford thing is now about equal with the Mike Jackson coverage. Let it go, its boring now.
Bishop on June 26, 2009 at 4:58 PM
Oh, and will his latina lover still have any interest when he is broke, disgraced, and no longer forbidden fruit?
Laura in Maryland on June 26, 2009 at 4:49 PM
My guess is NO!
LSUMama on June 26, 2009 at 4:59 PM
As if you are, Falz. Wow.
dtestard on June 26, 2009 at 4:59 PM
point is King David wasn’t perfect and had affairs, now may not be the time to site him though.
jp on June 26, 2009 at 4:59 PM
ou’re offending dirtbags.
The Race Card on June 26, 2009 at 4:53 PM
LMAO
LSUMama on June 26, 2009 at 4:59 PM
No, but the lawsuit will comfort her.
Limerick on June 26, 2009 at 5:00 PM
I thought of that too. I have a friend with three kids whose husband had a middle-age crisis and had an affair with a 22 year old. The friend took him to the cleaners and shortly after that the 22 year old dumped him.
As for your comment about the alimony. His wife may not get alimony if he’s not working but she could really get alot from their assets and later get alimony when he will go back to work. Then there’s a small matter of child support.
Deanna on June 26, 2009 at 5:00 PM
That is one messed up dude. My wife can’t watch it because watching him destroy his life is just too pathetic. The writers have tapped into a gold mine of emotions.
csdeven on June 26, 2009 at 5:01 PM
Seriously Sanford, please resign … you’re rich enough to go take your wife around the world to go eat salads under the palm trees… or go to the mistress with two magnificent parts… don’t be citing bible stories and verses if you’re not going to face real consequences for transgressing the principles you preach… Stanley Fish called it “The Trouble with Principle”… you forgo them just to get whatever you truely want… he’s only sorry he got caught… divorce won’t kill a political career… but he didn’t have the balls to take responsibility for getting a divorce…
Btw, it was a letter TO his mistress, not FROM… you’ve got it backwards in your title…
ninjapirate on June 26, 2009 at 5:01 PM
Alimony is reverse sexism. She is educated, has quite an extensive resume, and plenty of family money. She either needs to get a friggin job or live off her family’s fortune.
txsurveyor on June 26, 2009 at 5:01 PM
I can’t wait to read his new book. I wonder if there will be a chapter about restoring America to traditional family values? (North America, that is. We can outsource our vices on the side.)
http://washingtonindependent.com/48853/coming-in-march-mark-sanfords-book
Siobhan on June 26, 2009 at 5:02 PM
+1
exactly
Renae on June 26, 2009 at 5:02 PM
He made it sound like his wife knew about the whole thing, he is such a snake.
Pension from the being the Gov., no small amount I imagine.
right2bright on June 26, 2009 at 5:03 PM
Too bad he’s not a democrat…he’d be more popular than ever.
Erich66 on June 26, 2009 at 5:03 PM
Dude, I believe his term IS ‘finished’, in a manner of speaking.
speed911 on June 26, 2009 at 5:03 PM
There is something theraputic about dragging the adulterer through the mud and humiliating him much the way the poor wife has been humiliated. I hope he goes bald before the court procedings start. He seems vain to me.
Laura in Maryland on June 26, 2009 at 5:05 PM
And David murdered Uriah.
Think before you speak Sanford.
csdeven on June 26, 2009 at 5:06 PM
In today’s world, if she is making more money than he is, she could end up paying alimony.
speed911 on June 26, 2009 at 5:07 PM
Well welcome to the 1950’s…it ain’t reverse, when she has given up any career to raise four kids, marriage is a partnership. And when a partnership dissolves, the assets are divided. If you want something different, sigh a pre-nuptial…it is very easy to understand, community property.
right2bright on June 26, 2009 at 5:07 PM
I think the guy is a flake. No kidding! This is just sheer lunacy! He is navel gazing to the max. My prayers for his lovely wife, and their four boys. May God give her peace, and guidance as she performs her most important job in being a Mom.
freeus on June 26, 2009 at 5:08 PM
I would prefer not to make any assumptions.
Is it possible she stayed at home with the kids (and with her education and resume) so he could pursue his career?
Maybe she can get a job.
I could assume that you went through a similar situation and you’re projecting your anger/frustration on Mrs. Sanford, but I will give you the benefit of the doubt because I don’t know you.
VibrioCocci on June 26, 2009 at 5:10 PM
Normally, I’d agree. In this case, her full-time job has been full-time mom to four kids, campaign manager, political spouse and first lady. She has put aside her own ambitions to further his.
Laura in Maryland on June 26, 2009 at 5:11 PM
But if he could dance well, and sing a bit, Congress would stop work to ponder his aura and might even tear up a bit.
Limerick on June 26, 2009 at 5:11 PM
I would have kicked him to the curb in January when I found the letter.
txag92 on June 26, 2009 at 5:12 PM
She didn’t give up a career. She had a career before the kids. She is fully capable of re-entering the workforce at the same level she left. Splitting community property is expected, but ordering one spouse to support the other after the divorce is ridiculous when both spouses are capable of working and supporting themselves.
txsurveyor on June 26, 2009 at 5:13 PM
Why is it we gals can see this when the big-wig governor can’t figure it out?
Laura in Maryland on June 26, 2009 at 5:13 PM
You assume correct. I got sentenced to 20 years of paying the ex. I was 47 years old when I got sentenced, so the judge is ordering me to work until I am 67.
txsurveyor on June 26, 2009 at 5:16 PM
Sanford’s 49 year old guy. Many cheat around then, or are tempted to, because it’s the last time they’ll ever be able to attract a woman. It’s a fear of death thing, not excusable perhaps, but understandable, and common.
If his wife still loves him, and is wise, she’ll realize the vulnerability of the mail with the aging libido. Soon enough, he’ll be going to the bathroom 5x/night and taking afternoon naps :)
JiangxiDad on June 26, 2009 at 5:16 PM
male
JiangxiDad on June 26, 2009 at 5:16 PM
My guess is NO!
LSUMama on June 26, 2009 at 4:59 PM
Why is it we gals can see this when the big-wig governor can’t figure it out?
Laura in Maryland on June 26, 2009 at 5:13 PM
Men think with the wrong head.
txag92 on June 26, 2009 at 5:17 PM
Being a full-time mom is a full-time job. She should not have to leave raising her four kids to strangers because hubby decided not to honor his commitments.
As for re-entering at the same level, the job market is pretty dismal (thanks Obama!) and her skills might not be up-to-date. Employers seem to prefer younger workers who are perceived as more driven and more tech-savvy.
Laura in Maryland on June 26, 2009 at 5:17 PM
The lieutenant governor leaked the emails. He hates the Sanford’s due to political machinations. He was the one asking where the governor was when he went awol.
True_King on June 26, 2009 at 5:17 PM
LOL!
Laura in Maryland on June 26, 2009 at 5:18 PM
Sexist!
It is NOT a head. It is a helmet.
Limerick on June 26, 2009 at 5:19 PM
I am truly sorry. It wasn’t any of my business.
VibrioCocci on June 26, 2009 at 5:20 PM
I laughed at that when I got up from my afternoon nap.
Daggett on June 26, 2009 at 5:21 PM
No problem. I just roll with the punches.
txsurveyor on June 26, 2009 at 5:22 PM
Okay, I’ve got say this…now that ain’t right!
Laura in Maryland on June 26, 2009 at 5:23 PM
Yeah, he already indicated he wasn’t planning on resigning yesterday, anyway. He’s just thinking of himself…not his state. He just keeps getting more disappointing. He’s lost my respect permanently.
AUINSC on June 26, 2009 at 5:24 PM
Did he break a law? If not, then he should not resign.
A man of such apparently weak character will not win another election, especially since he is a Republican and the major media will do their best to make sure that EVERYBODY knows about his (common) weakness.
exdeadhead on June 26, 2009 at 5:24 PM
I’m back in form because I just got up from mine.
JiangxiDad on June 26, 2009 at 5:24 PM
Resign, Sanford. You are not a king. You are not David. You aren’t even interesting.
spmat on June 26, 2009 at 5:26 PM
My sister is in NC – she believes he should stay put…
texan_forever on June 26, 2009 at 5:26 PM
Im easy to please but the min. there is no nookie im looking somewhere else.
Greed on June 26, 2009 at 5:26 PM
Thanks. I totally agree, but what do you do, ya know?
txsurveyor on June 26, 2009 at 5:26 PM
Its a liberal lie that Republicans place themselves as holier than thou, the Pres. is a much better example for that.
The Right though does promote higher standards, and the base holds them to higher standards, Sanford isn’t getting any passes for his conduct either, maybe its more the liberal bases’ own fault for not holding their own representatives accountable and if liberals aren’t going to hold who they elect accountable, then its hypocrisy to point fingers at Republicans especially the ones who are being held to higher standards.
If Sanford resigns he’ll never shake this off, he’ll never prove he can be a better man than this.
If it was me, I would give it hell on all fronts and prove myself.
Now’s no time to go all wobbly.
Speakup on June 26, 2009 at 5:27 PM
Can we finally stop with the inane talking point that “we police our own, unlike the Democrats”? Obviously we don’t if we can’t get idiots like Vitter and Sanford to go away.
Speedwagon82 on June 26, 2009 at 5:27 PM
Well that’s deep! Good luck to your future or current sex slave. :)
thevastlane on June 26, 2009 at 5:32 PM
This is absurd. Sorry about your plight, but you’re dead wrong.
SC may have some quirks in its property division laws, but here’s how it will likely work. Each walks away with their separate property. Thus, I’m hoping everything her parents have given her is in trust or readily traceable assets. Their maritial property–everything, including his retirement assets accumulated to date–should be divided largely down the middle.
Child support is largely dictated by statute.
The question remaining is alimony. You’re crazy if you think she’s entitled to nothing. I doubt she’ll get an award of lifetime alimony, but I’m confident that she’ll get some amount of rehabilitative alimony–say, five to ten years. You need to keep in mind she’ll need to be staying at home a great deal because the boys are all minors.
And yes, she did give up a career. A politician’s wife looks like a full time job.
Sorry again for your experience, but it’s simply not relevant in their situation.
BuckeyeSam on June 26, 2009 at 5:32 PM
I might be willing to forgive if he begged his wife and children for forgiveness and worked to restore his marriage.
I fear he’s asking for forgiveness and has no plans to do the thing for his family and give up his affair. I have zero respect for him if he doesn’t at least try to bring his family back together and stop being so selfish.
kerrhome on June 26, 2009 at 5:34 PM
Linked article says the boys went to a private school. Public schools not good enough for them?
richard_223 on June 26, 2009 at 5:34 PM
Why do you, and many others, keep calling her his “mistress”? She certainly does not fit the classic normal usage of the word “mistress”.
Mistress: A woman filling the place, but without the rights, of a wife; a woman having an ongoing usually exclusive sexual
relationship with a man, who may provide her with financial support in return; a concubine.
MB4 on June 26, 2009 at 5:37 PM
No, they are barely fit for anyone. What difference does it make?
Cindy Munford on June 26, 2009 at 5:38 PM
Good thinking Sherlock…
right2bright on June 26, 2009 at 5:38 PM
I guess Mrs. Sanford is just too selfish. What does she expect? Here she got to be a governor’s wife and had all those fun daily duties as First Lady of South Carolina without getting a pay check for her work. She took care of Mark’s kids on Father’s Day when he was traveling the globe to visit his mistress. She gave up some of her dreams in order to help her husband achieve his. Yes, Mrs. Sanford getting her fair share of assets when Mark broke up their marriage is the epitome of reverse sexism.
/sarc
Christina_M on June 26, 2009 at 5:39 PM
MB4 on June 26, 2009 at 5:37 PM
Agreed.
She was his ho.
Marsh on June 26, 2009 at 5:40 PM
Maybe he thinks he’s Billy C. He got to keep his job even after an affair, lying to America and committing perjury. Not to mention accusations of rape (PJ).
Greed on June 26, 2009 at 5:40 PM
Great, you stop working for a decade and see what earning power you have…now you show me how many governors are not married, and then tell me that having a spouse is not very important to that job.
right2bright on June 26, 2009 at 5:41 PM
And she still wants to give him another chance? Did he want to spend 20 days and they compromised at 10 days so she figured he was coming around to her way of thinking?
I can barley believe that I am even commenting on such a dopey thread.
MB4 on June 26, 2009 at 5:42 PM
I guess all that talk about Conservatives wanting to stay out of people’s bedrooms is off the table right? Sanford didn’t use state funds specifically to see his mistress, he was on a trade mission which brought 88 jobs to SC by the way. Sanford may be a bad husband but he’s a good governor. Th LT governor is basically a communist and the person who set much of this in motion (Will Folks of Fitsnews) by tipping the media and stirring the pot was forced to resign from Sanford’s campaig after beating his old lady just before they were married.
Yet SC “Conservatives” continue to use Folks smear site as a legitimate source to claim Sanford should leave. Maybe we need to grow up and start letting voters decide to punish Sanford if he runs for anything else and show the Democrats we’re not small minded finger waggers who can be made to turn on someone with a carefully placed story in the media.
Cheating on his wife is wrong, and between him and his wife. I’m not looking to date any politicians so I have no interest in their personal lives unless it’s unusually perverted or degenerate. Belonging to the Klan or an all White club-important to know. Having a girlfriend on the side? not so much. Give me a call when he drowns her in a river.
Rob Taylor on June 26, 2009 at 5:42 PM
I have no argument with you on the separate property, dividing community property equally (including his retirement), and paying child support.
The fact that the children are minors shouldn’t factor in. I am not sure of the ages of the children, but if Gov. Sanford gets custody of the children, he will have to make arrangements for childcare if they are not teenagers. She should be expected to do the same.
There are instances where limited alimony might be applicable. In an extreme hypothetical, let’s say a doctor is married to a high school dropout who has never been in the workforce. The dropout would only be able to get a minimum wage job. Requiring alimony for three or four years to allow the dropout to get an education or vocational training is fine. But that is not the case with the Sanfords.
txsurveyor on June 26, 2009 at 5:43 PM
Great now I have to worry about going to the mailbox and dealing with libininous post cards!
clnurnberg on June 26, 2009 at 5:44 PM
Who would have not wanted Benjamin Franklin to be part of our formation of the states…well, being a politician and a good husband does not always go hand and hand.
What is important is honesty, representation, dedication…I don’t like what he did, but it does not disqualify him from being effective.
Now lying to his constituents, that is a problem, ditching out of the state (he is employed by the state) wrong…but cheating on his wife like a scum bag, sorry, having him pass bills, and run a state is totally different.
Pelosi is in a happy marriage, that makes her capable? Well the inverse is true.
right2bright on June 26, 2009 at 5:45 PM
Since Mrs. Sanford is very wealthy in her own right, I just hope no damn fool judge makes her pay a dime to that trashy ho husband of hers.
clnurnberg on June 26, 2009 at 5:46 PM
I’m really mad and I would have a hard time supporting him for any future political office but their is redemption for everyone.
Amadeus on June 26, 2009 at 5:46 PM
Maybe he was her ho. And/or maybe he was his wife’s ho. Doesn’t his wife, or maybe I should now say his “wife”, have a lot more money that he does? Not to be too judgmental but some women sure seem to have an un-Godly hatred for “the other woman”.
MB4 on June 26, 2009 at 5:48 PM
I am all for Mrs. Sanford getting her fair share of the assets, but alimony is not an asset. Obligating Mr. Sanford to pay money he has not even earned yet is insane. Especially paying it to a woman with her education, work experience, and family fortune.
txsurveyor on June 26, 2009 at 5:49 PM
And why wouldn’t they. Our culture has been very accepting of men taking up with other women and essentially kickin his old family to the curb. The consequences have not been beneficial.
clnurnberg on June 26, 2009 at 5:51 PM
I think I saw that word, “REDEMPTION” somewhere. Oh, I remember, it was printed in BIG LETTERS on a doormat.
MB4 on June 26, 2009 at 5:51 PM
Hatred that strong usually comes more from the personal than from the abstract.
MB4 on June 26, 2009 at 5:53 PM
Analyze Gov.Sanford’s job performance, ohne die Sturm und Drang.
If Sanford was a good Governor, then drop the dramatic publicity. It isn’t going to heal his family. It isn’t going to help fiscal conservatism. No one’s going to forget to take Sanford’s stupidity into account in future elections.
maverick muse on June 26, 2009 at 5:54 PM
Trust me , I know how we all feel, but I cant harbor long term resentment when the emotion is gone. And its my guess that will last what seems a lifetime or about 2 years.
Amadeus on June 26, 2009 at 5:57 PM
Maybe he was her ho. And/or maybe he was his wife’s ho. Doesn’t his wife, or maybe I should now say his “wife”, have a lot more money that he does? Not to be too judgmental but some women sure seem to have an un-Godly hatred for “the other woman”.
MB4 on June 26, 2009 at 5:48 PM
Not sure I follow you.
You think the word “ho” is indicating an Un-Godly hatred?
Marsh on June 26, 2009 at 5:58 PM
So long as his job performance was great, I agree; no one is going to forget Sanford’s stupidity. But if he’s really an effective fiscal conservative, then utilize his abilities to help stave off Statism.
maverick muse on June 26, 2009 at 5:59 PM
I must say that this whole matter seems to have become more than something of a Rorschach test rather than a matter of dispassionate analysis. All topics here seem to do to that to varying degrees, I suppose, but this one seems to be that in the extreme.
Sigmund on June 26, 2009 at 6:00 PM
I dunno. Does God hate ho’s? is God a rapper?
MB4 on June 26, 2009 at 6:02 PM
What I think everyone misses is that the greatest sin against the State is not adultery, but the fact that he put himself in a position to be blackmailed, and for that he does deserve impeachment.
Amadeus on June 26, 2009 at 6:04 PM
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