Sanford's tale brings out comments and comedy
The bizarre tale of a missing governor who sneaks back into the country only to confess that he's been cheating on his wife with an Argentine woman dominated the news Thursday, making it's way to front pages of newspapers from Lewiston, Maine, to San Diego, Calif.
Even the Clarin in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where Gov. Mark Sanford spent five days, ran a front page photo of the governor's Wednesday news conference in Columbia.
From the front pages, to TV news shows, to comedians - Sanford was everywhere.
Here are a few excerpts of what they're saying:
From Gail Collins, The New York Times:
On behalf of the people of Illinois and New York, I'd like to thank South Carolina for giving us Mark ("I've been unfaithful to my wife") Sanford. Finally, a governor who's weirder than Rod Blagojevich and less responsible than Eliot Spitzer.
From Jane Ridley, (New York) Daily News:
Rising GOP or Democrat star? It doesn't really matter. Sanford is just another sleazy pol who has dumped on his wife and supporters from a dizzying height.
He should head out to the Appalachian trail and take a long walk off a short cliff.
From David Letterman, The Late Show with David Letterman:
Top Ten Governor Mark Sanford Excuses
10. Did I say hiking? I meant cheating.
9. Had to Do something after the devastating news about Jon and Kate.
8. I learned everything I know from Governor Spitzer.
7. Let's talk about more important issues like the Nestle Toll House cookie recall.
6. I learned everything I know from Governor McGreevey.
5. It's Ahmadinejad's fault.
4. If you met my wife you'd be fleeing the country too, am I right fellas?
3. Putting together my audition tape for "The Amazing Race."
2. If you run a state and decide to leave the country for a week, since when do you have to tell someone?
1. It wasn't me, it was my hilarious alter ego, Bruno.
From Kathleen Parker, The Washington Post:
People generally will forgive human frailty, especially in matters of the flesh. After too many such public trials, our schadenfreude begins to feel as unseemly as the original sin.
But Sanford's foray into iniquity has potential repercussions beyond what he and his wife ultimately resolve. He did disappear for several days, five of which he confessed to having spent 'crying in Argentina.; What is it about that place?
And, there's no nice way to put this, he lied -- by omission, if not commission.
From Dan Blaz, The Washington Post:
Sanford had endeared himself to conservatives by being one of a handful of Republican governors to object to Obama's stimulus act and resist accepting all of the money for his state. But he has not been a consensus-builder and has left his party in turmoil in South Carolina. Even without the affair, Sanford's governing style and penchant for going it alone would have made it hard to succeed through the rigors of a long presidential campaign without voters wondering whether he had the judgment and dependability to lead the party or the country.
From Conan O'Brien, The Tonight Show:
Today the governor of South Carolina, Mark Sanford, who's the head of the Republican Governors Association, held a press conference to reveal he had an affair with a woman from Argentina. People were shocked because Republicans traditionally don't do well with Hispanic women.
From Robert A. George, NBC News Los Angeles:
Whether Sanford pays a larger price than merely stepping down as chairman of the Republican Governors Association remains to be seen. He may have attracted a certain sympathy factor based on the press conference. However, the release of e-mails between the governor and "Maria from Argentina" -- and whether state resources were used for his affair could cause him serious political complications for some time. And, don't forget, many South Carolina Republicans couldn't stand their governor before this. It's not like he has a lot of political goodwill upon which he can fall back.
From Ewen MacAskill, The Guardian, London:
The embarrassment grew today when the biggest newspaper in South Carolina, The State, published intimate email exchanges between him and his lover, known only as Maria. These emails reveal, in excruciating detail, a middle-aged, married man as besotted as a teenager with his first love.
The story has knocked the upheaval in Iran off the top news spot in the US, with the emails being read out by po-faced television anchors and political correspondents.
From Jimmy Fallon, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon:
"Mark Sanford, the governor of South Carolina -- this just keeps getting weirder. He was missing for five days. He finally showed up. He claimed that he was just hiking in the Appalachian Mountains. Then just today, he revealed that he was not hiking in the Appalachian Mountains, he was in Argentina the entire time -- in Argentina, where he was having an extramarital affair. Wow! It all seems insane until you realize who his mistress is -- Carmen Sandiego."
From Jenny Booth, The Times, London:
As he tearfully confessed at a press conference last night to being unfaithful to his wife, Mark Sanford, the Governor of South Carolina, may have imagined that his embarrassment was complete. He would have been wrong.
Hours later the humiliation deepened when a South Carolina newspaper published a string of emails between Mr Sanford and Maria, his lover in Buenos Aires.
From David Letterman, The Late Show with David Letterman:
"Anybody here from South Carolina? Their governor down there, Mark Sanford disappears. He's gone for four days. The first time he said he was hiking the Appalachian Trail. Okay, I'm just dumb enough to believe that. Then he says, 'No, no, no, forget the Appalachian Trail. I was in South America.' Now, I'm not sure I'm with him. Today he said he woke up in Las Vegas, hung over with a tiger and a baby.
But now it turns out that he was in Argentina with another woman. A married guy, got a family, he's in Argentina with another woman. And here's what I want to know -- why can't he be like our former governor and use a local escort service? What's the problem? (Reference to former N.Y. Gov. Eliot Spitzer who resigned after a scandal involving a prostitute-ring.)
From Craig Ferguson, The Late, Late Show With Craig Ferguson:
"Did you hear about Mark Sanford, the governor of South Carolina? He mysteriously disappeared last week and nobody knew where he was. Today, Sanford admitted to having an affair in Argentina. I'm like, great, now we're outsourcing mistresses."