Don't get us wrong. Buenos Aires is a beautiful city, known as the Paris of Latin America. And for the record, we believe hiking the Appalachian Trail is an excellent way to clear your head and unwind after you've been used as a punching bag by state legislators from your own Republican Party.But even if S.C. Gov. Mark Sanford had been hiking – instead of visiting a paramour in Buenos Aires, as he confessed at a Wednesday news conference – he'd still be in a heap of trouble.
If you're a governor, you do not go off without staying in touch with your office – whether you're backpacking on the trail or bawling in Buenos Aires. You do not turn off your cell phone, and you make sure your staff knows where you are and how to reach you. Always.
Forget, for now, the extramarital affair. For a chief executive of a state to remain unreachable for days – and apparently neither his staff nor the State Law Enforcement Division knew where he was or how to reach him – is a serious breach of duty. What if the Catawba Nuclear Plant had a meltdown? What if a terrorist bombed the S.C. State House?
On Wednesday, at his extraordinary news conference, Sanford said he is resigning as chairman of the Republican Governors Association.
Good. It's time for him to resign the S.C. governorship as well.
Sanford's secret, six-day assignation in Argentina betrayed not only his family and friends but the people of his state.
Whatever credibility he might once have had is shredded. His much-touted principles have unraveled. “I've spent the last five days of my life crying in Argentina,” Sanford said. “I am committed to trying to get my heart right.”
We wish him well in that endeavor. Maybe he'll reconcile with his family and they can forgive him. Maybe he'll decide to tango into a new life in Latin America. Whatever he chooses, he should face his future as a private citizen, not as South Carolina's governor.
What if the sky fell, geez. The Governor is not a job where you have to be on call 24/7. You basically attacking him for stepping outside. Hell, our Gov Bev took a secret vacation two months ago and nobody is ranting mad about it... we don't know where she went... did she have a phone on her... did she even tell her staff where her and her husband would be. We weren't told because it wasn't a concern. This is complete over-hype of the situation.
ReplyDeleteHe's at fault for not thinking what he was doing and having an affair (that probably will end his marriage). Those are not impeachable offenses in any state, including South Carolina. If he chooses to step-down, it will be a decision I'm sure him and his close aids will decide upon.
Leave it up to SC. It's their problem, not ours!
ReplyDeleteIt blows my mine that someone says The Govenor is not a job where you have to be on call 24/7. With that thinking are you also going to say being the President is a job that doesnt require you to be on call 24/7?
ReplyDeleteYour way out of line if you think the head of state should not be on call 24/7. Was Gov. Perdue reachable? Did her staff and protectors know where she was. For anyone to defend what Sanford did blows my mind. The head of any state should be reachable at all hours of the day 24/7/365. That is their job.
I promise you that if i pulled that stunt at my job id be sent packing.
Sanford does this ONE THING and you call for him to step down.
ReplyDeleteWhere were you when Mike Easley was taking bribes, arranging cushy university jobs for his wife, flying around the state in private jets, and basically acting like the reincarnation of Huey Long?
Or is it that Easley is a Democrat and Sanford's a Republican?
The Observer is useless, and so is your disgusting little editorial.
I can hear the Observer licking its chops for this story. A Republican who stood up to Obama (how dare he shun the ring) doing a John Edwards impersonation.
ReplyDeleteCut the guy a break. It's a shame that the Observer 'editors' have to stick their collective noses into something that is between the Governor and his wife and the other woman.
ReplyDeleteIt would have been more helpful to North Carolina if the Observer had done some investigation into real corruption within OUR state while Mike Sleazley was governor. Had you been doing your job during his two terms, I suspect that he would have only made it through one term and spared us this debacle of institutionalized corruption that seems to have taken over NC politics.
Hey, Observer - Your opinion wasn't asked and isn't wanted. Lay off your editorial staff and just report the news.
ReplyDeletePerhaps the good "journalists" (bloggers?) at the Observer should be on the job 24/7 seeking out real news instead of calling for South Carolina's "roving governor" to step down.
ReplyDeleteAt least the Observer didn't stoop to publishing the emails sent between Sanford & his mistress.
Oh. Wait! They did!
Class.
Remind me, was it also your opinion that Bill Clinton should've "stepped down" in the Lewinsky affair? You know, the one where he lied under oath to a federal grand jury that was investigating sexual harrassment charges, and ultimately was impeached by the congress and disbarred as an attorney?
ReplyDelete(hint: no, you thought that was A-OK.)
Quite frankly, the State of South Carolina is going to live to see another day here, and would have lived to see another day even if Sanford had never returned. Why? Because of their Consititution. Everything is spelled out to the letter as to how the State would have functioned. So just because he's a 'conservative' and because you liberal guys have nothing better to do, never fear, this isn't anything that he can be run out town on a rail for. Stupid? Yes. Illegal? NO.
ReplyDeleteIf you liberal guys in the Disturber wanted to make a point that every politician who's ever had an affair absolutely needed to step down from office... that would clean out the vast majority of them who's ever served. And... furthermore, where you when Big Bill 'I did not have sex with that woman' Clinton had his indiscretion? Oh wait... I'm sorry, he's in the wrong darn party, so his indiscretion was totally forgivable, but Sanford's isn't.
Gosh... what a bunch of hypocrites. But this isn't anything new.
Come to think of it, maybe we ought to boot every philandering politician out of office. If so, let's give old Barney Frank the first toss..... Oooo... what do you say about that???
It is so amazing how simple minded people are. This is a pure example of why we, the American electorate, elect idiots to office. I don't care that Sanford is wrapped up in an affair. I don't care that he is a Republican. The bottom line is this, Sanford was elected as the chief executive of the state of South Carolina. Don't some of you people understand that the Governorship has some understood rules and expectations that one must be under while in office??? he was elected by the citizens of the great state of SC and this man went AWOL on the job. Stop making excuses for this man...Try staying out of work for a week without calling in and see what happens??? People are losing jobs all over the place and some of you have the audacity to make excuses for a man to work of the job??? It is a part of his job to have security detail, it is a part of his job to be in constant contact with his office. If he couldn't handle it, it should not have run. Better yet, it is simply this. We all have issues in our lives and when those issues become such a problem that it effects our work, there is a price to pay. So please, spare the republican/democrat simple minded drivel. Forgive him as a man, fire him as the governor.
ReplyDeleteif he used taxpayer money to fund his trips to argentina over the past year, then yes he should step down as gov.
ReplyDeleteThe Observer should get me on their Editorial Staff and I will work for free. That way when they say something like this is will have some clout as not just coming from a liberal bent editorial staff.
ReplyDeleteBut I agree with them in this case. This whole debacle seemed suspect, and so full of holes when it started, that you could smell it from a mile away.
He is obviously a poor liar and his group has not learned to cover up for him, so that in itself will disqualify him from ever being a good politician, little lone being able to deal with all those other snakes called politicians.
Hopefully he and his wife will work this out, or not, but he is no longer effective either at home or in office.
Did you call for the resignation of Bill CLinton when he used the White House as his own personal brothel? Leave the man alone.
ReplyDeleteYou are 100% correct, he should step down. I just wish that the observer would have asked this of Mike Easley also. Maybe this paper would have a higher readership, if they would actually do some investigations on what is going on in N. and S. Carolina.
ReplyDeleteThis is the reason why I canceled my home delivery.
Some of these comments are hilarious. I find it hard to believe that some folks think Sanford is getting picked on. I'm a registered R the guy needs to go. How can you defend Sanford for jetting out for almost a week with no communication?!?!? Don't let your loyalty to a party blind you- that goes for both parties.
ReplyDeleteIt is NOT about infidelity. It is NOT about Republican vs Democrat; liberal vs conservative. Those of you who are trying to make it about those things are misled by petty anger and resentment. It IS about derilection of duty. That is a fireable offense in any job. He needs to go.
ReplyDeleteSam, I dont think he should step down because he cheated on his wife. I think he needs to step down because he went AWOL.
ReplyDeleteI dont really give a crap what an elected official does in their personal life, what i do care is what they are doing while in public office.
He skipped out on SC. Thats fireable. Any head of state doesnt do that, and if they do, they should be fired.
As to the comment about Easley, all of his stuff came out after he was out of office. How can i ask him to step down when he's not in office anymore?
Stop making this a democrat or republican thing. Its not. The Gov. left the country without telling anyone where he was going. How do you not see that as being wrong. If dont see it has being wrong, then you have some huge blinders on.
Its amazing how the Libs jump at the chance to persecute a conservative, but let's slush Clinton having cigar sex with an aide or our sitting Pres. and his associations with America haters.
ReplyDeleteIn a country that accepts the likes of Barney Frank and Barry Soetero? Hah.
ReplyDelete