Republican Sanford admits affair

The Republican Party has lost a second potential candidate for the presidency in 2012 in a week - and again it's because the man concerned has admitted to an extramarital affair. South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford told a press conference on Wednesday that a friendship with a woman he met eight years ago had within the last year "become romantic".

What made matters worse was that the 49-year-old Governor had vanished from South Carolina for nearly a week, telling aides he was going to hike the Appalachian Trail. In fact, he had hopped on a plane to Argentina to hook up with his woman friend, identified only as 'Maria' by the local newspaper, the State.

The fact that Sanford's confession comes almost exactly a week after Republican Senator John Ensign of Nevada admitted his own extramarital affair is a blow to the Republicans. Both men were considered worthy contenders to take on Barack Obama for the White House in 2012 and in both cases an affair is reckoned to have put the kibosh on their hopes.

In a rambling and emotional press conference at the statehouse in Columbia, South Carolina, Sanford admitted that the trip to Buenos Aires was the third time he had visited the woman during the past year. "I've been crying for five days in Argentina," he said, on the verge of tears.

The Governor added that his wife Jenny had been aware of the affair for the past five months and he apologised publicly to her and their four sons.

He refused to address the question of whether he intended to resign as Governor. But he did tender his resignation as chairman of the Republican Governors Association, a job that quickly went to Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour.

Today, the State published email correspondence between Sanford and 'Maria', including a message sent on July 10 last year. "You have a particular grace and calm that I adore,' the Governor wrote. "You have a level of sophistication that 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."

Sanford's office did not dispute the authenticity of the email.

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING:
Chris Cillizza, Washington Post: "Having an extramarital affair is bad, but not being truthful to the people of the state and disappearing for five days is unforgivable on the national stage - or any stage for that matter."

Larry Sabato, political scientist at the University of Virginia, in the Christian Science Monitor: "His White House hopes are dead, and he'll never again be elected to statewide office in South Carolina. It's over. His career is finished."

Sophia A Nelson, political strategist, for the Huffington Post: "Sanford should not resign as Governor of South Carolina and he should not allow himself to be removed as a candidate for President in 2012. Who among us is without sin? It is time we started acting like a nation of grown-up adults - Christians who understand what the Bible truly teaches us about failure and sin."

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