[RogHammon]

This is going to be interesting.


Missing South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford says he was in Argentina, not hiking trail

BY Robert F. Moore
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Updated Wednesday, June 24th 2009, 8:49 AM

Chastain/AP South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, once a big name in the mix for the GOP in 2012, is reeling from a mysterious five-day absence.







South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford popped up at the Hartsfield Airport in Atlanta Wednesday and sheepishly admitted he had been in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
The oddball admission came a day after his staff explained his prolonged absence by saying Sanford had been hiking along the Appalachian Trail. They were only off by about 5,000 miles - give or take a sleeping bag or two.

"I wanted to do something exotic," Sanford told The State newspaper, adding that he planned to hike the trail before changing his mind at the last minute.
Sanford, who is married, insisted he went to Buenos Aires alone.
"It's a great city," he said.

The Republican governor hadn't been seen since Thursday. He declined to give further details on his South American trip, saying only that he drove along the city's scenic coastline. Sanford said he needed to recharge his battery after a grueling legislative session.
"It was a long session and I needed a break," Sanford said. Sanford, a rising star on the national GOP roster, returned after his staff told him that his trip was getting a flurry of media attention.

"I don't know how this thing got blown out of proportion," Sanford said.
Sanford, best known for butting heads with President Obama over the stimulus package, is chairman of the Republican Governors Association and considered a leading Republican presidential candidate in 2012.
The governor's wife, as recently as Tuesday, hadn't heard from her husband. Jenny Sanford told the Associated Press she wasn't worried.
"He was writing something and wanted some space to get away from the kids," she said while vacationing with the couple's four sons.

The Appalachian Trail is a continuous footpath in the Appalachian Mountains that spans 2,165 miles and 14 states from Maine to Georgia.
Buenos Aires, known as the 'Paris of South America,' boasts beautiful architecture, a world-famous zoo and is the birthplace of the tango.
Sanford is expected to return to his office on Wednesday

[heinz_1966]

Another GOP star tarnished: South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford admits affair with Argentina pen pal

BY Robert F. Moore and Helen Kennedy
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Updated Wednesday, June 24th 2009, 2:16 PM

CNN
South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, once a big name in the mix for the GOP in 2012, admits to having an affair at a press conference Tuesday.

Monsivais/AP
Sanford, right, and his wife Jenny, are all smiles earlier this year during a dinner at the White House.






South Carolina's wandering Gov. Mark Sanford arrived home from a secret six-day trip to Buenos Aires to tearfully admit he has been having an affair with an Argentine pen pal.

"I spent the last five days of my life crying in Argentina," Sanford said at an extraordinary, rambling press conference in Columbia, S.C.
Sanford, who was until this week one of the GOP's most promising rising stars, resigned as chairman of the Republican Governors' Association but did not step down from his job running South Carolina.
He choked up three times and he apologized to his wife, Jenny; his four sons; his in-laws; his friends; his staff; people of faith and his state.

"I've let down a lot of people, that's the bottom line," he said. "I hurt her (his mistress), I hurt my wife, I hurt my boys. . . . I hurt a lot of different folks."
Sanford's admission came after he vanished Thursday, telling no one where he was going and leaving no contact information. His staff told reporters, when pressed, that he was hiking on the Appalachian Trail.
Sanford apparently didn't think anyone would notice his absence.
The governor said he first met the unnamed Argentinian woman eight years ago when they had an "incredibly earnest conversation" in which he urged her to get back together with her husband for the sake of her two children.

They kept in touch by e-mail and "it developed over the last year into something much more," he said.
"I've seen her three times since that whole 'sparking' thing."
He said "from a heart level there was something real" but that because of his job and his family it was "a place I couldn't go and she couldn't go."

Five months ago, his wife discovered the affair, Sanford said.
He said they've been working to reconcile, but did not explain how his jaunt to Argentina this week fit into that scenario.
The governor, who had been much talked of as a 2012 presidential candidate, is the latest rising GOP star to take a long fall - and the second in a week.

Nevada Sen. John Ensign confessed last week to having an affair and employing - then firing - his mistress and her husband.
Sanford ditched his security detail and took off Thursday without telling his staff or family where he was.
He was out of contact throughout the Father's Day weekend.
His wife, Jenny, vacationed with their four sons and fueled the story by telling the press she didn't know where he was.

While Sanford was gone, his staff issued a stream of conflicting statements: Sanford was working on projects; he was clearing his head; they knew where he was; they didn't know where he was; they had talked to him; they hadn't talked to him.
On Monday night, his staff finally gave a location, saying he was hiking somewhere on the Appalachian Trail. They fudged whether he had been in touch.

On Tuesday, they said he had called in and, surprised his absence was an issue, had decided to rush back from his hike.
Sanford apologized to his staff for "creating a fiction with regard to where I was going."

From SC to Argentina? That is one heck of a booty call...

[KuevDulin]

Family Values

[WhiliaStelt]

OMG... watch the press conference, WHAT a nut case.

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In the meantime: from an article in the NYTimes about my man Berlusconi's affair:

"In an exclusive interview to be published Wednesday in Chi magazine, which Mr. Berlusconi owns and which is Italy’s equivalent of People, he was asked if he had ever paid a woman “so she would be with him.”

“Naturally, no,” he responded. “I have never understood what satisfaction there is if not in the pleasure of conquest.”

[enfoires]

Did he write down any notes beforehand about what he was going to say in front of cameras? And was one of them, "I was crying in Argentina."

What a dumb schmuck. There's already Evita stuff at YouTube.

And who was that woman grinning in the background?

[Jifyicyfuhpop]

So the cover story was, "I'm hiking on the Appalachian Trail."

On Naked Hiking Day.

Watch out for ticks, gov.

[Sxscdergh]

“Naturally, no,” he responded. “I have never understood what satisfaction there is if not in the pleasure of conquest.” LMAO. Geez, what a pathetic old liar Berluscandal is! He's well known to give envelopes of cash, often with butterfly motif jewelry as gifts to the lovely ladies that are procured for him...plus whatever else is needed to convince pretty young things to sleep with his orange butt.
The guy is such an embarrassment.

[DevaRextusidis]

The story of hiking the Appalachian Trail is hilarious...I wonder how hard his staff members were laughing when someone thought of that one.

[SonicPs]

Geez, what a pathetic old liar Berluscandal is! He's well known to give envelopes of cash, often with butterfly motif jewelry as gifts to the lovely ladies that are procured for him...plus whatever else is needed to convince pretty young things to sleep with his orange butt.
The guy is such an embarrassment.

Mistresses, protitutes etc. + politians is no embarrasement for Italians (or the French for that matter). Berlusconi is certainly pushing it ... but the average Italian cares little about it.

The Mark Sanford issue is offensive to me only because the GOP plays up the "family values" bull crap... and being AWOL for a few days is truly out of line. And the bizarre press conference can only raise questions about his judgment.

But IMHO having an affair is nobody's business but his own.

[mArVHDO6]

Maybe in some other states, but I don't think this guy is going to survive in South Carolina.

[omaculer]

I wonder how hard his staff members were...

Must.....resist.....pun...........

[somasideff]

I do agree, in a way Fab. I think the biggest fault was going AWOL and lying about the whole thnig, THEN trying to gain people's sympathy by saying he was crying every day.

What, between romp sessions you were all feklempt? Poor baby, here's a tissue.

As for the whole topic of fidelity, that is a hard one (pun) in that these guys are generally no t know for their fealty anyway. Many of the women they marry are not interested in them as loyal partners, but as ways to elevate their own social and financial standing.


I think the one that should be most ashamed is that girls Father. It is one thnig to find someone you think is a good person, or just plain attractive, but she was just F'ing a president, not anything more. It kind of shows how shallow and self centered she, and her friends, really are.


But is may also be testament to their tolerance and fortitude!!!!!

[movlabc]

Why do these guys feel the need to public announce they had an affair. It should be released in a statement and no more. I dont need to see some guy blubbering about it.

[8IhGpvH0]

Berlusconi is certainly pushing it ... but the average Italian cares little about it.

The Mark Sanford issue is offensive to me only because the GOP plays up the "family values" bull crap -Reality check-
"Berlusconi was elected last year with a strong Catholic vote as his centre right coalition promotes family values and backs the teachings of the Catholic Church. "


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...nd-sombre.html

[KasaBalak]

The problem isn't (or shouldn't be) extramarital affairs. The accusation of lying is especially ridiculous, because that's what an affair is all about. You're lying.

The problem is interference with your responsibilities as an elected official. The Sen Ensign situation is more clear-cut. It involved hiring people (a son of the mistress was given a campaign job), and possibly extortion.

This guy Sanford wasn't (and still isn't) thinking clearly. Did he actually think that a governor could maintain a relationship with someone in South America? What a dope.

I don't remember him specifically, but he was a House rep during Clinton-Lewinsky, and stated that Clinton should resign. Another nail.

[Charryith]

Midtown: this is Italy. Of course Berlusconi won by a strong Catholic vote... about 90% of the country is Catholic. No one, but no one, cares about politicians and family values. Italians are a cyncal people, certainly not expecting sexual morality from politicians. And few follow the social teachings of the Church (although most have a love and respect for it). It is at once a very Catholic country and a very secular country. Berlusconi is fooling no one and most importantly: letting no one down by paying prostitutes.

The best explanation of this Italian circus/charade can be found here in this NYTimes article... very well written... right on the money:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/07/we...07donadio.html

--

[xquFzpNw]

What you said was that Sanford played up the values thing, and that's why it offended you. Well, Berlusconi and his party play up family values too.

[Vitoethiche]

If they do then please tell us why Berlusconi (in his own magazine) said when asked about paying woment for sex: “Naturally, no,” he responded. “I have never understood what satisfaction there is if not in the pleasure of conquest.”

He did not respond with indignation. He did not moralize.

No one here would accept that.

[Belindanan]

He said naturally no. Why not just tell the truth, since you say "No one, but no one, cares" anyway.

Indignation? Of course he isn't going to get up there and look angry, he kept his cool and supplied a calm denial. He's an ass but he isn't stupid.
He moralizes plenty, and that is why I said "Berlusconi and his party play up family values too."

[Gorlummm]

But he is admitting he is a womanizer... do you see the difference? Would Sanford have done the same? And Berlusconi is NOT repenting.

Also if you are talking about the "pleasure of conquest"... well that would also include gifts.... please reread the quote.

I'm sorry Midtown but really... I don't think you are getting it. Please take the time to read the article I posted.

I can certainly understand not liking Berlusconi... no argument there. But try to understand the culture here. again let me repeat:

"Mistresses, protitutes etc. + politians is no embarrasement for Italians (or the French for that matter). Berlusconi is certainly pushing it ... but the average Italian cares little about it. "

That is the way it is. Berlusconi, the right, the left... they ALL may "play to family values" but at the same time: they don't.

This is a generally a corrupt, cynical country. Sexual scandals just don't make a dent and have not affected Berlusconi's popularity.. or the popularity of other polititians in even worse situations here.

Also: I am not saying the way here is better: holding an elected office to certain moral standards is actually noble and perhaps a good litmus test ... but it is a way that would not work here.


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