Sanford's revalation brings criticism by other elected officials
By Scott Harper
sharper@gtowntimes.com
The fallout continues from Gov. Mark Sanford's admission Wednesday he has been carrying on an affair with a woman from Argentina with some lawmakers demanding he resign.
Sanford made the tearful confession during a tearful press conference Wednesday in front of cameras from all over the United States.
He said he has known the woman -- identified in emails only by her first name, Maria -- for eight years but the relationship "sparked" about a year ago.
On Thursday, Time magazine identified the woman as Maria Belen Chapur, a 43-year-old divorced mother of two children who works for an agricultural company.
The reaction to the relationship revelation has been coming from all over.
Late Thursday -- as Sanford was huddled up in his Sullivans Island home with his family -- Republican State Sen. Glen McCall, one of the state's two national representatives to the Republican National Committee, called on him to resign.
Local reaction
Locally, the Georgetown County Legislative Delegation weighed in on the scandal.
Sen. Ray Cleary, a Republican from Murrells Inlet, said he was shocked and saddened when he heard Sanford's confession.
"He is one of those people I would never expect this from," Cleary said.
Sanford's main responsibility now, Cleary said, has to be to work on rebuilding his family, not his political career.
"I am not sure he can work on the reconciliation with his family with all the pressures of the governor's office," Cleary said. "If he finds he can tackle his family issues and the office, then great but I am not sure if that is possible.
Rep. Vida Miller, a Democrat from Litchfield, said she is "greatly disappointed by the actions of Sanford and the effect that his judgment has had on his family and the people of this state. The First Lady and family will be in my thoughts and prayers as the Sanford's and the State of South Carolina begin this healing process."
In a joint statement, as members of the House of Representatives, Miller and Rep. Carl Anderson stopped short of saying Sanford should resign immediately.
"How the Governor Sanford handles his personal issues is a private matter; however he is accountable to the citizens of this state for his public duties as Governor. The minute the aftermath of the Governor's recent actions become a further distraction in moving our state forward and helping our citizens, resignation should be considered. It is time to put South Carolinians first," they said.
Anderson, a minister, added he is praying for the Sanford family.
"Do not judge us all by the actions of the top man in South Carolina," he said.
Sen. Yancey McGill was unreachable.
S.C. Attorney General Henry McMaster said he believes Sanford now understands the seriousness of leaving the state and country without anyone knowing his whereabouts.
"My hope is that this sad experience will make Mark a better governor and a better public servant during the final months of his administration." McMaster said.
Sanford's world unravels
After receiving a tip about the vehicle Sanford was driving being parked there, Gina Smith, a reporter for The State, was sent to the Atlanta airport and confronted the governor on his whereabouts.
He told Smith he'd been in South America, driving along the coast, the paper reports. He also said he had been alone. That version of his story lasted only a few hours.
Later in the day Wednesday, during the press conference, Sanford said the six words that shocked the state and thrust the state into the national and global spotlight.
"I've been unfaithful to my wife," he said as he fought back tears, nearly eight minutes after the press conference began.
Mrs. Sanford said in a statement released about an hour after her husband's press conference.
"I let down a lot of people," he said, his eyes brimming with tears. "That's the bottom line."
Sanford said that he knew he would have to come clean.
"I'm a bottom line kind of guy. It's going to hurt. I'm going to let the chips fall where they may," he said. "I met this person and struck up a conversation. There's a certain irony to this. She was separated, and we ended up with this incredibly serious conversation and about why she should get back with her husband for her boys."
They decided to stay in contact via e-mail.
"It started on a very casual basis -- run things by each other," he said.
He felt as if he had found a confidant.
"When you live in the zone of politics, you can't ever let your guard down. You can't ever say, 'What do you think, what do you think?' There was this zone of protectiveness. She lived thousands of miles away, and I was up here, and you could throw an idea out and vise versa.
"We developed a remarkable friendship over those eight years. About a year ago, it sparked into something more than that."
Love letters
Just after midnight last July 10, Sanford sent an e-mail to "Maria" in e-mails obtained by The State newspaper.
"Two, mutual feelings. ... You have a particular grace and calm that I adore. You have a level of sophistication that's so fitting with your beauty. I could digress and say that you have the ability to give magnificent gentle kisses, or that I love your tan lines or that I love the curve of your hips, the erotic beauty of you holding yourself (or two magnificent parts of yourself) in the faded glow of the night's light -- but, hey, that would be going into sexual details. . . ."
Sanford went on to describe their love as "impossible," and "how in the world this lightening strike snuck up on us I am still not quite sure. As I have said to you before I certainly had a special feeling about you from the first time we met, but these feelings were contained and I genuinely enjoyed our special friendship and the comparing of all too many personal notes."
His wife finds out
Sanford said his wife learned of his infidelity about five months ago.
Mrs. Sanford said that when she found out about the affair, "I worked immediately to first seek reconciliation through forgiveness, and then to work diligently to repair our marriage. We reached a point where I felt it was important to look my sons in the eyes and maintain my dignity, self-respect, and my basic sense of right and wrong. I therefore asked my husband to leave two weeks ago."
Sanford seemed to suggest in the news conference that he was actually considering going on a hike, but that he ended up in Argentina. "I spent the last five days crying in Argentina only to come back here and cry," he said.
When a reporter asked whether he had broken off the relationship with the woman, he said he had been trying to get his "heart right," and that they were in different places in their lives.
Sanford spent a great deal of time talking about the consequences of his actions. He said he was particularly ashamed about the revelation's effect on people with strong religious beliefs.
On a more personal level, he acknowledged harming his family and friends.
"I hurt you all," he said. "I hurt my wife. I hurt the boys. I hurt friends like (state senator and former chief of staff) Tom Davis. I hurt a lot of people. And all I can say is, 'I apologize.' "
Choking back tears, he recalled a "surreal" conversation a couple of weeks ago with his wife's father about the affair. "He was incredibly gentlemanly as you cannot imagine," Sanford said. "Here was the pain I was struggling with in regards to where my heart was and where I was in my life, and I let him down and a lot of people, and that's the bottom line."
Sanford also confessed that he had misled his staff. "I would apologize to my staff as much as I did talk about going on the Appalachian Trail. That isn't where I ended up."
More questions
While Sanford's startling confession answered questions about his whereabouts last week, it raised new questions about his marriage and political future.
Unlike so many other politicians' wives who have seen their husbands' infidelities exposed and stood next to them in news conferences, Jenny was home with her parents and children. Her only comments came in a lengthy statement.
"I would like to start by saying I love my husband and I believe I have put forth every effort possible to be the best wife I can be during our almost twenty years of marriage," she said. "I kept this separation quiet out of respect of his public office and reputation, and in hopes of keeping our children from just this type of public exposure."
She said she was proud of his accomplishments, but that "the greatest legacy I will leave in this world is the character of the children I, or we, leave behind. It is for that reason that I deeply regret the recent actions of my husband, Mark, and their potential damage to our children."
She concluded by saying that she believed in the power of marriage, and that "Mark has earned a chance to resurrect our marriage. Psalm 127 states that sons are a gift from the Lord, and children a reward from Him. I will continue to pour my energy into raising our sons to be honorable young men. I remain willing to forgive Mark completely for his indiscretions and to welcome him back, in time, if he continues to work toward reconciliation with a true spirit of humility and repentance."
Sanford said he has many hard decisions to make. "I am committed to that process of walking through with Jenny and the boys, the Tom Davises of the world and the people of South Carolina," he said. "I go back to that simple word of asking for forgiveness."
Political future
On a national level, Sanford's story of infidelity was more bad news for Republicans struggling in the wake
Republicans struggling in the wake of last year's election loss. During the news conference Sanford resigned as chairman of the Republican Governors Association, but indicated he wouldn't resign as governor. Political analysts said nevertheless that Sanford's national political prospects now are dim.
Should Sanford resign?
That poll question can be answered on the Georgetown Times Website, www.gtowntimes.com.
As of Thursday afternoon, 62.7 percent of the respondents said "yes" he should resign as governor while 31 percent said "no."
The remaining 6.8 percent said they are unsure.
You can participate in the survey by visiting the Times Website. The poll will remain online until Monday.
A similar poll conducted by the Post and Courier showed, by Thursday afternoon, 61-percent of those participating said Sanford should step down.
The poll conducted by the Aiken Standard showed 68-percent of their readers said he should resign.
The Post and Courier contributed to this report.
King David and Mr. Sanford : 6/27/2009
The "King David" reciting governor said, "Spending money that you don't have is a horrible idea." I guess he does not consider spending tax-payer money to visit his mistress a "horrible idea." In an interview given to CNN on February 8, 2009, Governor Sanford said 'We're moving close to a savior-based economy." The South Carolina Republican said such an economy is "what you see in Russia or Venezuela or Zimbabwe or places like that where it matters not how good your product is to the consumer but what your political connection is to those in power." "That is quite different than a market-based economy where some rise and some fall but there's a Again Governor, we do not like what you are selling!consequence to making a stupid decision." Well people, I think we must forgive the governor but he is "not" fit to lead. How can anyone trust him now? To quote the governor one last time when he spoke about the economy Governor Sanford said, "We're going to go through a process of deleveraging and it will be painful. The question is; Do we apply a bunch of different band aids that lengthen and prolong this pain or do we take the band aid off? I believe very strongly: let's get this thing over with, let's not drag it on." I totally agree with you governor! Good-bye governor. Please step down.