To view this site, you need to have Flash Player 8.0 or later installed. Click here to get the latest Flash player.
COLUMBIA, S.C. - After going AWOL for seven days, South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford emerged yesterday to say he had secretly flown to Argentina to visit a woman with whom he was having an affair.
Wiping away tears, he apologized to his family and the public and resigned as head of the Republican Governors Association, but was silent on whether he would quit as governor.
"I've been unfaithful to my wife," he said in a news conference in which the 49-year-old governor ruminated on God's law, moral absolutes, and following one's heart. He said he had spent the last five days "crying in Argentina."
Sanford in recent months had been mentioned as a possible presidential candidate in 2012.
He drew national attention when he criticized the $787 billion federal economic-stimulus package and resisted efforts by state legislators to claim a share of it, saying they should instead find ways to cut spending.
His vocal battle against the Obama administration over the stimulus money won praise from conservatives, but ultimately a state court required him to take the money.
By leaving the country without formally transferring power, critics said he neglected his gubernatorial authority and put the state at risk. It wasn't clear how his staff could reach him in an emergency.
A former three-term congressman, he voted in favor of three of four articles of impeachment against President Bill Clinton, citing the need for "moral legitimacy."
The affair is now over, Sanford said, not naming the woman but describing the resident of Argentina as a "dear, dear friend" whom he has known for about eight years and been romantically involved with for about a year.
He said that he had seen her three times since the affair began and that his wife found out about it five months ago.
The State newspaper of Columbia, S.C., published steamy e-mail exchanges online between Sanford and the woman, identifying her only by her first name, Maria.
"What I did was wrong. Period," he said. His family did not attend the news conference, and his wife, Jenny Sanford, said two weeks ago that she had asked the governor to leave and stop speaking to her. The governor said he wants to reconcile. His wife's statement said he has earned a chance to resurrect their marriage.
"This trial separation was agreed to with the goal of ultimately strengthening our marriage," she said.
Sanford denied instructing his staff to cover up his affair, but acknowledged that he told them he thought he would be hiking on the Appalachian Trail and never corrected that impression as he left for South America.
"I let them down by creating a fiction with regard to where I was going," Sanford said. "I said that was the original possibility. Again, this is my fault in . . . shrouding this larger trip."
Questions about Sanford's whereabouts arose early this week. For two days, after reporters started asking questions, his office had said he had gone hiking on the trail.
Cornered at the Atlanta airport by a reporter from The State, Sanford revealed yesterday morning that he had gone to Argentina for a seven-day trip.
When news first broke about his mysterious disappearance, Jenny Sanford said she did not know where her husband, with whom she has four sons, had gone for the Father's Day weekend.
At his news conference, he began by musing of his love of hiking and how he used to guide trips along the Appalachian Trail, and eventually tearfully apologized to his wife, his staff, and his friends - but without yet saying what he was apologizing for.
"I hurt a lot of different folks," he said, occasionally choking up throughout the news conference that lasted about 20 minutes.
With those watching still wondering what he was admitting, Sanford said: "The odyssey that we're all on in life is with regard to heart."
The governor's office wouldn't discuss the e-mail messages, which often brim with passion, but told The State it wouldn't dispute the authenticity of the messages.
"He shouldn't have lied to us. He should have been straight up," college student Gerald Walker, 19, said in downtown Columbia.
Glenn Mitchell, of Columbia, said Sanford's absence showed a lack of concern for the state.
"He left the state unattended," said Mitchell, 54, who is out of work and recuperating from surgery. "He just hasn't been there for us."
State Rep. Todd Rutherford (D., Columbia) called for Sanford's resignation. "There is nothing left to save," Rutherford said. "There is no reason for him to remain as governor."
Sanford was elected governor in 2002. He has more than a year remaining in his second term and is barred by state law from running again.
Jenny Sanford, a millionaire whose family fortune comes from the Skil Corp. power tool company, has been central to Sanford's political career. She ran his congressional campaigns and his first race for governor.
Sanford's announcement came a day after another prominent Republican, Sen. John Ensign of Nevada, apologized to his GOP Senate colleagues after revealing last week that he had an affair with a campaign staffer and was resigning from the GOP leadership.
|
|
|
|
|
|
MOST POPULAR PHILLY.COM PHOTOS
Daily Headlines
Subscribe now! Daily Headlines Newsletter
Philly.com news blogs
Philly.com Promotions
