by Mark Silva
The lieutenant governor of South Carolina, who clearly was miffed when the governor of South Carolina went missing for a few days, says today that Gov. Mark Sanford should not resign because of the Argentine love affair behind his behavior.
And Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer has plenty of cause to wish Sanford an early farewell. The fellow Republican, though no ally of the governor, is expected to seek the office next year -- and allows today that he'd be in a better position to run if he stepped in as a replacement now.
Bauer told the Associated Press today that he had spoken with Sanford on Thursday, and the two did not discuss the possibility of a resignation in the aftermath of the governor's admission that he has been carrying on with a woman from Buenos Aires for the past year and had gone to see her when he disappeared from public view over the Father's Day weekend. Sanford's love emails to Maria Belen Shapur have surfaced in the past week, while the father of four has struggled to salvage his marriage.
Earlier this week, before Sanford's whereabouts were revealed -- and during the time that the governor's staff maintained that he had gone hiking on the Appalachian Trail -- the lieutenant governor said: "I cannot take lightly that his staff has not had communication with him for more than four days, and that no one, including his own family, knows his whereabouts.''
Bauer, expected to run for governor in 2010, has not formally announced his plans. Sanford, serving his second term, is precluded from reelection by term limits. He had been considered a potential presidential candidate for 2012,, but probably has forfeited that as well with an extramarital affair that has mushroomed into a political problem -- the governor has agreed to repay the state for his travel on a Commerce Department trade mission to South America last year which involved more than promoting the goods of the Palmetto State.
Comments
Regardless of party, we the people must start to hold these politicians to a higher standard.
Posted by: bill r. | June 26, 2009 10:02 AM
The matter of Governor Sanford's resignation is up to the voters of his state, South Carolina. Unlike Illinois, South Carolina's voters will have the final say, on the fate of their Governor !! Here in Illinois, being elected Governor, by a fair election means nothing. The leaders of the General Assembly of Illinois, know better than the voters of Illinois !! They can obliterate an election, as though it never happened, on a whim, if, of course, they had the most influential newspaper in the state, beating the drum of sanctimony !! Impeach a sitting Governor because you don't want to work with him. So, get rid of him, because he will not play ball, he will not condone, nor practice, your bad habits. The political establishment, and various state newspapers are sporting a black eyes, due to their heavy-handed, anti-democratic machinations, concerning the "phony" impeachment of a sitting Governor. What a great political system, we have, here in Illinois, and what a great example we have, of a free and unbiased press, that upholds and condones, that political system !!
SUPPORT OUR TROOPS, BRING THEM HOME, ALIVE AND WHOLE. NOW.
Posted by: Don Fitzgerald, IL | June 26, 2009 10:08 AM
Bill R., I think this is the first time I actually agree with you.
Don, still the same ole nonsense from you. You can't be as clueless as you seem each and every time you write your pile of tripe, can you be?
First of all, if you read the item, you would know Sanford cannot run for re-election because of term limits.
As far as the voters of Illinois, it seems we have little say, partly because we have no recall abilility and partly because the party bosses often choose who the candiates are. I regard to the impeachment of Blago, well the guy is under indictment. He was properly impeached for his alleged crimes. But Blago wouldn't even had made it to the governor's office in the first place if he didn't have the backing of the Dem party chiefs.
Sort of like Boy Stroger and now it seems the party bosses are paving the way for Boy Stroger to win re-election by making possible challengers run with their tails between their legs.
Posted by: John D | June 26, 2009 10:57 AM
The voters of South Carolina ought to have the final say on Sanford's career. If no impeachment procedings are brought against him, then Sanford can count himself lucky and heave a big sigh of relief. However it turns out, Sanford's a major doofus for abandoning his office with nothing in place to handle the absence.
Posted by: Op109 | June 26, 2009 12:29 PM
Did you catch his apology to his cabinet? Did you like the way he said each and every one of the "team" went right ahead doing their jobs? I read it that he meant it was okay for him to take off because everyone else was in the state working while he was on cone patrol. In that case, maybe they don't need a governor at all...It would save the taxpayers some money.
Posted by: lochnessmonster | June 26, 2009 1:21 PM
Lochness, with the last three governors Illinois has had, I would say perhaps we just might be better off if there weren't any.
Please, a state isn't going to fall apart if its governor is away for a few days. This is not an excuse for what Sanford did, but get real!
Posted by: John D | June 26, 2009 4:08 PM
John D:
I agree a state or business for that matter will not fall apart if the leader is gone for a few days. However, he wasn't just off on vacation. And it would have been nice if a few Illinois governors had spent more time on vacation than the way they spent our tax dollars.
Posted by: lochnesssmonster | June 26, 2009 5:18 PM
Nessie, not to excuse Mark Sanford's absence for this purpose or his being entirely out of communication, but one of the jobs of a leader is to make sure that his people are sufficiently skilled and prepared to carry on if he is not there 24/7. If, on the contrary, the whole place falls apart when he's away, he has failed.
First learned this in the Army. You want the NCO's to be trained well enough that if the platoon leader goes down, 44 guys don't get massacred for lack of leadership.
Posted by: DaveB | June 26, 2009 5:38 PM
Sanford missed the new GOP instructional video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBKuRK1wD1A
Posted by: richard | June 26, 2009 8:20 PM