Gov. Mark Sanford is a lame.
Initially, I resisted writing about this scandal because there is nothing new or interesting about a cheating politician. It is old hat and anyone who still thinks that politicians do not have affairs like the rest of the population is on that stuff. I believe that what happens in marriages is between those two people. I typically don’t get it when people want to fire politicians for having affairs, especially if they have been doing their job. It really is none of our business, and if it does not impact his or her performance, then why does it matter?
When the news about South Carolina’s governor broke, I didn’t think much of it. Statistically speaking, 50 percent of Americans that are married have affairs. That is supposedly a conservative number. Some studies suggest that upwards of 85 percent of married couples cheat. Why should folks browbeat the man who is admittedly human and has done what seems to be commonplace in American marriages?
But with the recent events that have unfolded, I think it is now fair to browbeat the governor — because his behavior has become synonymous with sheer and utter foolishness. He has been browbeating the public with his pitiful rhetoric and stories of love lost. WTF?
A man poised to become president of the United States someday has now become a blithering idiot, not only admitting to the affair, but also giving way too much information about other affairs, as if we give a damn. It is clear that the man who thought it more important to spend Father’s Day weekend with his mistress than with his four sons still can’t manage to put his family first by further humiliating them and himself publicly.
Ditching your responsibilities for your international booty call, lying to your family and staff, while setting off a missing person’s search all so you can kick it with your “girlfriend” in Buenos Aires, was ridiculous and unnecessary.
Even that wasn’t enough to make Gov. Sanford go somewhere and sit down. We shouldn’t be hearing anything from this Bible-toting, scripture-quoting man who is a liar, a hypocrite and clearly a narcissist.
No, I do not have a degree in psychology or psychiatry, but this dude is nuts. It’s like now that he has told the truth about the affair, we need to hear all of the tawdry details. The e-mails and on-going details are too much. I don’t care about what he’s going through. I just wish he would suffer in silence. “This was a whole lot more than a simple affair, this was a love story,” Sanford said. “A forbidden one, a tragic one, but a love story at the end of the day.” Give me a break. Poor Gov. Sanford has to uphold his marital vows so he can’t be with his mistress … I mean “soul mate.” How tragic.
The real tragedy is having to listen to this fool further disclose inappropriate details about his inappropriate behavior with women over the years.
Sanford professes that he wants to reconcile with his wife. Yeah, OK. A man who wants to reconcile typically doesn’t continue to publicly embarrass and humiliate his wife and family. Sanford is not a troubled figure — he is a cad and there is nothing noble about him or what he is doing.
His refusal to go gently into that good night is a shame. I remember thinking that when Mrs. Sanford told the press that she didn’t know where he was, there was definitely a problem. Any woman who doesn’t know where her husband is and doesn’t seem to care has been through it with him. Now we all know why she didn’t do a “Tammy Wynette” — he’s not worthy.
A decent human being, especially one who called out other political scoundrels, including those in his own party, would not abuse the privileges of his office and expect to keep it. A decent human being would not abuse and exploit his family and his marriage and expect to keep that either. A decent human being would not continue to give all of the details of his ill behavior and expect for the public to listen and give a damn.
Gov. Sanford not only got caught up with this woman, he’s caught up in an elevated sense of himself. Take it down 1,000, chief; no one cares about what you’re going through but you. Keep your lame sex life to yourself. (FYI: Fooling around with other women and not “crossing the line” makes you look like a wuss, not a decent guy.)
The jig is up, Sanford. You’ve been exposed for who you really are: a rascal.
Now go take a hike … for real this time.
This article appears in Jul 7-14, 2009.
