I learned early not to lie, if I got caught doing something bad as a kid. I would get in double trouble. Trouble x 1 for whatever the transgression was. Trouble x 3 for lying about it. And rightfully so I think, now that I am a grown-up. However, that kind of punishment or retribution or whatever never happened to Gov. Mark Sanford of South Carolina when he was a kid. Or he would have either come up with a better story, not lied in the first place, or best of all kept his wanker in his pants. Before yesterday, I didn't know a thing about this guy, except that he didn't want to accept any of that dirty government bailout money, but, come on, a "quick trip" to Argentina? What could you possibly think we were going to think? Eric had an interesting take on this situation this morning. I now await his eventual update with bated breath...
What is it with Republican "lawmakers" and extramarital affairs? So many R's seem to be having a bit on the side. Fergoshsakes, two of them exposed in one week? Are they that much more attractive to women? Or are they worse liars than the Dems and just get caught more often? Are they getting for free what Dem lawmakers have to pay for? (yes, yes, a gratuitous snark...) Then again, there's John Edwards. Why must this activity be so bipartisan?
A part of me thinks "So what? He's got a bit of muslin on the side. That's between him and his wife. They'll have to work it out." But in reality, it appears that Gov. Sanford lied to his staffers about his whereabouts, which majorly compounds the issue. The top executive of a state leaves for a long weekend, lies to his staffers about where he was going, and leaves no clear way to contact him (as far as we know) in the case of an emergency. Such irresponsibility is very concerning in someone with a job like that. A doctor would be fried over open coals if he or she did that to his or her practice.
I do feel bad for Gov. Sanford's kids. It must suck for them to have to deal with kind of stuff in public.
******H/T to The Washington Post.******
4 comments:
I completely agree re who cares about politician's love affairs. What matters is how they do their job. If their affair affects their job, it is wrong, and they deserve to be kicked out, or punished in some way.
In this particular case, I'd call it a case of a failed IQ test. What was he thinking??!!
p.s. Yes, I'm back from my long drive. Left at 10am. Got to the boat launch around 2:30pm, with a 1/2 hour stop en route for lunch. Had ~1/2 hr to wait before son was picked up, so I left for home around 3:00pm. Had two half hour stops en route home, and arrived here around 7:30pm. At least my son drove all the way there, so I only had to drive home. But a long day.
No energy left for FarmTown this evening! :)
Wowie! But it sounds like he'll have a fun summer. :-) And Far Town will be here tomorrow.
I only care about politician's affairs when they campaign on the family values, high morals platform and then do thisind of stuff. Hypocrisy really rubs me the wrong way...
One way that an affair can affect a politician's job is to potentially make them vulnerable to blackmail or other unsavory activities.
I'm not sure I have anything to say that you didn't already cover, ND. I mean, the problem really isn't that Sanford had an affair--and it appears his wife actually kicked him out when she learned about it. The main problem is that the Governor of a state was AWOL without any apparent way for his staff to contact him and that indeed he'd deliberately misled them. It doesn't help that he was obeying his dipstick, but honestly: had Sanford gone to Argentina having left the explicit instructions, "I'm off to see my mistress, you have my cell if a hurricane wipes out Charleston or something, I can be back in less than 24 hours," it would be much more of a who-gives-a-damn? kind of thing as far as I'm concerned.
O'course, there's some snark to be had over the fact that Sanford is from the party of family values and has been plenty sanctimonious over others' failings. It would also be different if Sanford's attitude towards public morals had the same small-gov, laissez-faire approach he applies to state finances, "Hey, to each his own as long as everybody's a consenting adult and noone gets hurt, now I'm off to bang my Argentinian babe, ciao!" Again, not really the case.
As I've said elsewhere, I do give Sanford this much: leaving the hemisphere to knock boots has a little more panache than we Americans usually have to settle for. I look forward to the possible day when we're less prudish and more like Italy, where it takes a drunken orgy involving 18-year-old models and industrial heiresses fifty years younger than the elected official to generate a newsworthy scandal. Compared to the PM of Italy, Sanford is a rank amateur, but he took a step in the right direction.
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