South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford is telling a newspaper that he was in Argentina during his unexplained 5-day absence, not hiking along the Appalachian Trail as his office previously said.
The Republican told The State newspaper in South Carolina that he arrived at the Atlanta airport Wednesday.
Sanford says he decided at the last minute to go to the South American country. The governor says he had considered hiking on the Appalachian Trail but wanted to do something “exotic.”
It’s a pretty logical destination for a gold standard guy.
Hunter Gathers
This is 798 different kinds of awesome. The spin that comes out of this should be framed and put into the Smithsonian. This is going to be so damned funny.
Aqualad08
No matter what happens, I want this story to be the basis for next summer’s “The Hangover”-esque comedy hit…this whole thing is too f-ing bizarre not to be…
Michael
My guess is that he was off on a big ol’ Gaycation, and I won’t believe otherwise until I see his plane tickets, the name (and itinerary) of the boat he was on, and know the names of his traveling companions, none of whom being the poolboy.
Mark
Didn’t a bunch of Nazis go to Argentina after World War II because it doesn’t have any extradition treaties?
I’m just mentioning that. It has nothing to do with Sanford.
Punchy
Last time I checked, Argentine hookers are quite exotic.
Seriously, if any one of us just up and offed unannounced to another country and missed 3-4 days of work, we’d be canned faster than tuna. And now they’re trapped in a lie, which is akin to any of us telling our boss that the reason for missing work was due to a dead relative, when in reality is was due to banging foreign whores.
And he keeps his gig…how?
Scott
Argentina?! Who the hell goes to Argentina for a spur-of-the-moment vacation?!
Ash Can
I said this in the last thread, but I’ll repeat it here because it’s on topic: I’m beginning to think now that he did have a blowup with his wife, she told him to GTFO, Father’s Day or no Father’s Day, and he did.
Staffer A: “She told him to take a fucking hike. What the hell do we say to the press?”
Staffer B: “Charlie, you’re a genius! That’s exactly what we’ll say!”
El Cid
This is such a line of bullshit:
Deborah
Hee.
If I were an executive and got the urge to hit Buenos Aires, the last person I would tell would be my wife. Followed by my four young children over Father’s Day weekend. Followed by my staff. Why the hell do they need to know where I am? That’s why I turn my phones off whenever I disappear.
I hope his staff are properly seething that he put them in the position of looking like idiots. It’s clear his wife is.
ETA: It’s a good thing that after he “contacted” his staff on Tuesday they kept up the Appalachian Trail story! If there’s any group that still doesn’t need to know your wherabouts, it’s the staff charged with covering for you. The situation was only aided by their repetitions of “We say he’s on the AT and can’t be reached and we are sticking to that, no matter where his car turns up” AFTER they’d supposedly talked to him.
JL
Sanford changed his mind and didn’t tell his staff about his new location. If he had time to unpack his hiking boots and pack his swimsuit and passport instead, he had time to call the office. Whoops, maybe not a swimsuit because it is winter in Argentina.
donovong
As an unfortunate resident of Sud Kakalakee, I would gladly trade this guy for Caribou Barbie. There, I said it.
Cat Lady
Well that should stop all the speculation, because now everything makes perfect sense. Everyone who has a hard week at work goes to Buenos Aires for a few days without telling anyone.
4tehlulz
Don’t cry I’m in Argentina
Rommie
Peak Wingnut peaks again.
Out of all the questions you can ask about going to Buenos Aries (at the start of Winter, no less) I’ll ask the difficult one:
Is Sanford an Arachnid agent? It explains a LOT.
Bill E Pilgrim
This reminds me of a joke Ellen Degeneres told that I always liked:
Hunter Gathers
@Punchy:
Because he’s white and speaks with a twang. If you have these 2 characteristics, you can be a politician from the South for life.
The only exception being live boy/dead girl.
Carl Nyberg
Who goes out of country w/o telling his/her spouse?
W/o telling his/her bosses? Subordinates? Co-workers?
Is Sanford willing to provide an hour-by-hour account of the trip? B/c it seems to me that he was doing something he wasn’t supposed to be doing?
Scuffletuffle
Where do you suppose he left the big a** suitcase full of cash?
DougJ
I’d call it a Hobbesian choice, but I can’t remember if he’s an Official Conservative or not.
Johnny B. Guud
Who’s paying for this trip? Didn’t he refuse to accept stimulus money on the basis that it would hurt SC’s fiscal situation?
Napoleon
I have never traveled abroad (except Canada) but wouldn’t he need a passport and visa? Now I guess I would expect him to have a passport, but how hard is it to get a visa and don’t you get those at a consulate or embassy, and if so where does Argentina have them in the US? Don’t you have to appear in person? Does that all but make it impossible to do something like that on spur of the moment?
GregB
GOP-er-Matic Translator:
Driving along the coastline=trolling for underage hustlers.
-G
Rosali
I guess that “hiking the Appalachian Trail” should be changed to “doing the Argentinian Tango”.
PeakVT
I guess Rio would have made things too obvious.
DougJ
No, just a passport for a short trip like this.
comrade thalarctos
“It’s no longer a blue world, Max. Where could we go?”
“Argentina?”
Scott
“Where’s Gov. Sandford? Oh, he’s just out of town, nothing to worry about. Oh, yeah, wait, he wanted to do some writing, so he needed to get away from his damn kids. What? No, wait, not writing, hiking. He’s hiking. In the Appalachians. Seriously. Oh, no, no, wait, he’s in Argentina. Driving on the coastline. This is in no way suspicious.”
I no longer suspect rehab, hookers, or gay sex. I now think he’s on some coastal island banging penguins. It’s the only way this story could get stranger.
Michael
Whatever 14 year old he met outside Atlanta for the big gay weekend must not have been part of the “To Catch a Predator” team, and might have been the only real 14 year old trolling the net for sex with older men.
AWH
Can we see the passport stamps, please?
Carl Nyberg
Eliot Spitzer (under pressure from many, including Democrats) resigned for less.
Ripley
Wait a minute – there’s a ban on travel to Argentina! This proves that Sanford is a Muslin!
Where’s the
birth certificatepassport?!?Bill E Pilgrim
Heck, Appalachian Trial, Buenos Aires, I get those two mixed up all the time also.
Punchy
Are flight manifests public knowledge? Is it possible to request/demand a passenger manifest to confirm his presence on such a flight?
jrg
It’s not Sanford’s fault. Somebody mentioned “stimulus money”, so he just figured it was for Viagra, Extacy, and Argentinian hookers.
Tokyokie
A U.S. citizen doesn’t need a visa for a trip to Argentina of 90 days or fewer, and Delta does have a direct flight from Hartsfield to Buenos Aires. Still weird though. Packing for hiking the Appalachian Trail in summer and visiting Argentina in winter are not exactly similar.
Ann B. Nonymous
He’s Gone Gaucho.
greynoldsct00
and the AP can’t even get the airport name right…HARTSFIELD…guess they were in a hurry to push the story out
greynoldsct00
WIN!!
Little Dreamer
@Ripley:
I don’t see where there is a ban on travel to Argentina. There was a ban on flights from Mexico due to swine flu, and they stopped five bankers from leaving the country citing movement of money suspicions, but… ban on travel to Argentina? I think not.
Proof?
Little Dreamer
@Tokyokie:
I wonder if he was cold in his shorts?
J.A.F. Rusty Shackleford
@Tokyokie:
The packing for hiking was a ruse. I’ll bet that if Sanford’s luggage is searched a couple of wetsuits will be found.
donovong
“Packing for hiking the Appalachian Trail in summer and visiting Argentina in winter are not exactly similar.”
Trust me – had anyone told this dumbass that it was winter in Argentina, the concept would have permanently stripped his brain gears.
Cathy W
I’d like to post something witty and insightful on this topic, but my brain is hung up on “wait, what?”
The Other Steve
I’m thinking Appalachian Trail would be an awesome name for a strip club!
dmsilev
OK, let’s take this story at face value, and ignore the possibility that it’s a cover for something worse/stranger.
So he decided, apparently on the spur of the moment, to take a nice South American vacation. Without telling his wife or kids, or (heavens forbid) bringing them with.
I hope the Governor’s Mansion has a comfortable couch for him to sleep on.
-dms
IndieTarheel
@Ann B. Nonymous:
Just when I say
boy we can’t miss
You are golden
Then you do this
You say this guy is so cool
Snapping his fingers like a fool
One more expensive kiss-off
Who do you think I am
Lord I know you’re a special friend
But you don’t seem to understand
We got heavy rollers
I think you should know
Try again tomorrow
Can’t you see they’re laughing at me
Get rid of him
I do’nt care what you do at home
Would you care to explain
Who is the gaucho amigo
Why is he standing
In your spangled leather poncho
And your elevator shoes
Bodacious cowboys
Such as your friend
Will never be welcome here
High in the custerdome
What I tell you
Back down the line
I’ll scratch your back
You can scratch mine
No he can’t sleep on the floor
What do you think I’m yelling for
‘Ill drop him near the freeway
Doesn’t he have a home
Lord I know you’re a special friend
But you refuse to understand
You’re a nasty schoolboy
With no place to go
Try again tomorrow
Don’t tell me he’ll wait in the car
Look at you
Holding hands with the man from rio
Would you care to explain
Who is the gaucho amigo
Why is he standing
In your spangled leather poncho
With the studs that match your eyes
Bodacious cowboys
Such as your friend
Will never be welcome here
High in the custerdome
JenJen
The truth is, I never left you…
So let’s just circle back for a second. His staff (and apparently his family) had no freaking clue where the Governor was, and they made up an outrageous tale to buy time. The Governor of SC went AWOL, period.
That’s the real story here. The Argentina Twist is just icing. :-)
dmsilev
@The Other Steve:
Fixed.
-dms
Blue Neponset
It is wintertime in Argentina. Was the Gov. celebrating the winter solstice down there or something?
nffcnnr
Honey, it looks like you
Got some explaining to do
Like where you’ve been and what you’ve done
And who you saw, and was it fun?
Were there places that you never thought you’d go?
Why you went on the attack,
Why you left and why you’re back
And the fact you refused to let me know
Honey, it looks like you
Got some explaining to do
~Evan Dando, “It Looks Like You” [2003]
Little Dreamer
Note to Sanford:
When you gratefully accept federal funding, you can afford staff who know how to properly cover for your ass when you’re gone.
Just saying…
Rey
The Gov has some ‘splaining to do….
Third Eye Open
Maybe him and Bush had some face-time down on the family plat.
Or, Maybe he won some sort of contest
Ash Can
Gov. Sanford puts the Tango in Whiskey Tango Foxtrot.
(He’s also managed to make Rod Blagojevich look like a complete piker. Now that’s an accomplishment.)
jibeaux
Driving around Buenos Aires by himself.
While the staff says he’s on the AT.
And his wife and kids don’t know, haven’t heard from him, and don’t apparently care.
Yes.
That sounds pretty above-board to me.
bob h
I’m fond of Argentina, go to BA every year, and know that for many men it is a favorite destination for sex tourism. Especially the nightclubs around the Evita Peron cemetery. It would be interesting to know more about where he went there.
David
Story trajectory:
1. Sanford’s bizarre double life is revealed.
2. Excuses/blame:
alcoholism and/or
prescription pain medication addiction and/or
flashbacks to sexual abuse as a child
3. Katie Couric prime time special: an interview with Sanford fresh out of rehab.
Bill E Pilgrim
I think he wanted to see if it’s true that water spirals in the opposite direction down there.
To see if Republicans could find someplace where spinning to the right wouldn’t be flushing them down the toilet.
Poopyman
He’s a Republican and he’s from South Carolina. He was sure that it’s summer everywhere. Even now he’s disappointed that there was that cold snap when he was down there.
jibeaux
@bob h:
Planning the annual trip and looking beyond the TripAdvisor recommendations, eh?
For some reason I’m reminded of that line in There’s Something About Mary: “Who’s been to Santiago, Chile, twice in one year?!”
scav
@Ash Can: ok, you just earned your 15 minutes of abject worship, so be sure to enjoy it.
Louise
I’ve been eagerly awaiting this comment thread because, as HG said up top, “this is 798 different kinds of awesome.”
You haven’t disappointed me, people. Hilariously on-target as always.
South of I-10
@Poopyman: Republican + cold in Argentina = definitive proof that global warming does not exist.
spudvol
“Sanford told The State he was alone on the trip to Argentina. He declined to give any additional details about what he did other than to say he drove along the coastline.
Trying to make such a drive could frustrate a weekend visitor to Argentina. In Buenos Aires, the Avenida Costanera is the only coastal road, and it’s less than two miles long. Reaching coastal resorts to the south requires a drive of nearly four hours on an inland highway with views of endless cattle ranches. To the north is a river delta of islands reached only by boat.”
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_sc_governor_where
peach flavored shampoo
So what exactly does the wife say here? Oh to be a fly on the wall.
Someone’s reporting that their were two cars parked in two different airports. If so, then doesn’t that scream pre-meditation and intent to obfuscate?
SenyorDave
Damn, I had just finished practicing “President Sanford” just in case Obama completely flops.
Brian J
So why was he in South America? Unless there’s a good reason for his behavior, this isn’t going to go away. And by good reason, I don’t necessarily mean worthwhile, I mean something that doesn’t invite further questions and/or doesn’t make him seem like a freak.
Now, assuming he isn’t deathly ill or having some sort of nervous breakdown, if this does seriously hurt his presidential chances, it’ll be pretty amusing. It’s all relative, of course, but he did seem like one of the stronger candidates that Obama could have faced. How ironic that they are slowly but surely knocking themselves out of the running before Obama has even moved a finger.
jibeaux
@spudvol:
He drove the two miles down and two miles back over and over again for five days, ok! It’s a beautiful coastline and you need to see it 240 times a day to really appreciate it! LEAVE MARK ALONE!
passerby
For an alternate perspective, have a look at SC’s The State newspaper’s letters to the editor page. (Note: these were written prior to Sanford’s Argentina announcement.)
Here’s a clip from someone willing to cut Sanford some slack and put political foe Knotts in his place:
• Reflective governor not a bad thing
Shame on our governor for taking time to be alone and think. We need a governor like Sen. Jake Knotts, who does not need to take time to think.
WILLIAM R. GEDDINGS JR.
West Columbia
Heh.
Edit : Click on the words” The State “. Link doesn’t color up with the italics.
maya
Stanford should now be referred to as Governor Waldo.
Image marketing to follow.
CRO
Anyone else think the Secret Service is now downing Pepto-Bismol by the gallon at the mere thought of Sanford running for president?
Ash Can
Oh, and another thing. How can it possibly be winter in Argentina, or anywhere else, this time of year when the earth is flat? Huh? Huh??? Gotcha there, don’t I, smart guys?
/Sanford&wingnuts
Bill E Pilgrim
@maya: That’s not bad. Or The Wandering Wasp.
kay
@peach flavored shampoo:
She says “leave us to our privacy”. I want to be generous about this, I really do.
But it’s hard to extend that to Republicans, because they don’t return the favor.
You just get tired of how they don’t practice deference to privacy, but insist on it when they’re in a bind.
This is a reciprocal deal. It has to go both ways.
TummySticks
The black Chevy Suburban believed to have been used by South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford to leave town has been found in the parking lot of Columbia Metropolitan Airport.
CNN was alerted to its location by a law enforcement official.
Sanford is expected to return to Columbia tomorrow after a mysterious six-day absence. His office has said the governor, a possible 2012 presidential candidate, has been hiking the Appalachian Trail to clear his head after a tough legislative session.
The SUV is outfitted with blue police lights and two-way radio. Inside the vehicle: A baseball cap, running shoes, sunscreen, a pair of shorts, a canvas bag and a sleeping bag.
A parking permit for the school attended by Sanford’s children is visible on the windshield.
CNN reports
??????
forked tongue
Double win!!
It’s too bad it’s winter down there–it woulda been sweet if it turned out that Saturday was “Naked Day” in Buenos Aires.
Surreal American
“Appalachian Trail.” “Argentina.” Potato. Potahto. They both begin with “A”, so what more do you detail-obsessed people want with the governor anyway?
Leave Sanford Alone!
Englischlehrer
this inspired me to post some political on my blog. What the hell was he doing there? This story, unless a perfect excuse is given, will continue to steamroll for a bit. Fucking weird, I’m bummed that I will be already be asleep here in germany before this story gets weirder and I have to work all day tomorrow so I’ll little of this, I hope I can keep up with it!
The Moar You Know
The explanation is staring you all in the face and you just refuse to admit it.
He’s Batman. He had to go save Buenos Aires from El Bromista.
Fern
That’s a long flight for a short vacation.
J.D. Rhoades
Good point, especially considering that the wingnuts go apeshit whenever Obama spends any money to go on a date with his wife or to have a pizza, even if the pizza chef was traveling on his own dime.
Michael Sheridan
@Punchy:
Putting on my former airline employee hat: Flight manifests are not normally available to the public, barring a court order. They might produce a list of passengers after an accident, though usually not until after next of kin are notified.
But after the multiple versions given by his people over the past few days, Sanford should be required by the press to produce his ticket receipts AND his boarding pass stubs to prove his whereabouts. And if he won’t do it, they should hang him out to dry, regardless of whether or not he tearfully apologizes to his wife/children/colleagues/voters/dog for skipping out for a few “tango” lessons.
spudvol
Has Cokie Roberts ripped him a new asshole for “going off to some sort of foreign, exotic place”;
gex
If you decide, all of a sudden to go to Argentina, and you aren’t willing to put the LG in charge, you call someone and leave a number at which they can reach you. Or you check in. You’re the fucking governor for crying out loud.
There’s so much bullshit in that story, and it doesn’t even matter what the truth is. If you take him at face value he still screwed up royally and jeopardized the state and his constituents by behaving like a college backpacker skipping around the world on a moments notice.
patrick
The Story Thus Far (what really happened)
1. Gets his ass handed to him by Legislature (Gets his ass handed to him by the legislature)
2. Tells his wife he needs to “get away from teh kids so I can write” (Wife tells him “Take a fucking hike you WATB”)
3. Takes State vehicle, disappears. (Takes State vehicle, picks up gay lover/tranny hooker/underage boy/2 pounds of blow, goes to God Knows Where)
4. State notices he’s AWOL, begins search (Political opponents see opportunity, begin fauxrage)
5. Staff tells Press he’s “hiking the Appalachian Trail, clearing head after intense Legislative Session” (Press notes that it is “Naked Hiking Day” on Appalachian Trail, comedy ensues)
6. Leaked information claims to find his abandoned vehicle at various airports – all of which are at least three hours away from Columbia and nowhere near the Appalachian Trail (Staff says “Fuck it, your guess is as good as ours”)
7. Governor calls staff. Expresses “What? People have noticed that I’m AWOL!? I’m shocked” (After running out of blow and dick sore, Governor turns on teh news. Panic ensues)
8. Staff tells Press “He’s coming home from his “hiking” trip” tomorrow. Does not mention Appalachian Trail, gay hookers or blow (Governor decides the Naked Hiking story is a little to bizarre, goes with “I went to Argentina on a whim”)
9. Governor returns. Claims he was in Argentina “driving along the coast” because American coasts aren’t good enough (Stay tuned)
Zifnab
Nothing is more patriotic than Mark Sanford visiting Argentina to catch a little baseball with his mother over a piping hot apple pie. Why do you hate America?
FAUX News is going to be booked solid with this guy for a month.
Ed Drone
What I can’t figure out is where was the TSA on this? Don’t they log passengers in and out as they pass through our stringent security?
Didn’t anyone look for his name on an airline passenger list? What do we pay these people for? Finding fingernail clippers in an old lady’s handbag?
ARRRGGHHH!
Ed
DonBoy
Not that I’m this obsessed, but you know the wingnuts who are convinced that the press always “leaves out” the party id when a Democrat does something bad? I notice that AP waits until the 5th graf to get to the fact that Sanford is an R, although his enemy is helpfully labeled R earlier on.
Brian J
This is just a guess, but I’m thinking that the president garners just a little bit more attention than the governor of South Carolina, so even if he were to become president and just slip away, there would always be a few people who would know where he is.
spudvol
“Sanford said he has taken adventure trips for years to unwind. He has visited such places as the coast of Turkey, the Greek Isles and South America. He was with friends sometimes and sometimes by himself.”
He’s gay. Give it time.
http://www.thestate.com/local/story/838823.html
Louise
Set your DVR/TIVOs: Sanford press conference at 2pm eastern.
passerby
The on-line version of The State presents only 4 Letters to the Editor, 3 of those were about the Sanford story and all 3 were pro Sanford. I’m hoping that the SC media will dig into the details around this story and follow up with some investigative reports but, it seems like he may have a friend in The State.
I would like to know why all the secrecy around his time off (though, I don’t care who he’s boinking). It was mishandled to say the least but I heard the Lt Gov state that Sanford was out of the country before, back in April, when Myrtle Beach was on fire and had to fly back from wherever he was then to deal with the emergency. I’ve looked around but haven’t found which country he was in at that time.
He does get around.
frodo
@The Moar You Know:
The joker is known here as “El Guasón”.
I wonder if I saw Sanford waking past me in 9 de Julio y Cordoba and didnt notice?.
GP
DRUG TEST>>>>>>>>>>
Montysano (All Hail Marx & Lennon)
This sounds like a man who emphatically does not want to run for president, someone who maybe does not like politics so much after all, but was too much of a pussy to just come out and say so. So he torpedoed his own boat.
flukebucket
This time Myrtle Beach actually would have made some sense. He could have stuck on a mustache, a hat and some sunglasses and seen all of the coast he would have cared to see just a few hours from home.
The Moar You Know
Gonna be real hard to keep that closet door closed now.
I suggest a TIG welder.
The Saff
@patrick:
Your summation is full of win.
clone12
Maybe he’s looking for Carmen SanDiego
tim
Right Wing psycho governors in general repulse me, but I LIKE that someone in his position went and did what he did when he wanted to do it and SO THE FUCK WHAT?
Obviously, SOMEONE knew where he went; probably more people than we know. And HIS WIFE was unconcerned, so what’s it to anyone else?
Screw the MSM scolds and the lefty puritans: anything that pisses this many self-regarding people off can only be a GOOD thing.
You all are panty-sniffing and outrage trolling.
The Moar You Know
@frodo: Goddamned Babelfish. Anyhow, thank you, I’ll try to file that one away for future reference. I have a feeling it may come in handy this week.
Batman has great and mysterious powers.
gwangung
Well, emergencies are fucking what.
GP
Where was John Corker during all of this?
gex
@Englischlehrer: I can’t even fathom what the perfect excuse could be. That’s the thing – can anyone think of a reason for this behavior that answers more questions than it raises?
Ash
@tim:
If SOMEONE knew, why didn’t they tell anyone? WHAT’S THE POINT of the stupid hiking story? If they just said, “Oh, he just went for a trip to Buenos Aires” there would BE NO SPECULATION.
And two, why would you WANT the person IN CHARGE of a state to just up and disappear for a week leaving no one else in charge? Not even the Lt. Gov. knew WTF was going on. Do you have any idea how much can happen in a week? During hurricane season?
forked tongue
If you believe that, you’ll believe Larry Craig’s problem was his wide stance.
The Moar You Know
@tim: Nice to have you back, Governor Sanford!
But hey, in all seriousness, he feels very OK with interfering with other people’s personal lives and business. We’re just returning the favor.
It’s a lot harder than you think to identify the guy who is working the gloryhole.
ThatLeftTurnInABQ
I personally am not going to be satisfied with this story until we have a secret lair located under an extinct volcano. Or a Jurassic Park style base on a remote and lonely island. Perhaps somewhere off the coast of Argentina they are secretly cloning dinosaurs for the Creation Museum so they can prove that Baby Jebus really did ride on a raptor.
PeopleAreNoDamnGood
When Ron Christie says you are toast, and you are a Republican, I think you are toast.
Christie spoke the t-word a few minutes ago.
The gov has about one chance to save himself, when he speaks to the press. Assuming that is epic fail, it’s time to forget about Sanford’s political ambitions.
Punchy
Doesn’t South Carolina have a mighty fucking large coastline itself? You gotta fly 2000+ miles to see the fucking ocean when it’s in your fucking backyard?
Check the goddamn flight manifests. Something dudnt jive.
jrg
tim, I’m not sure if you noticed this, but we have a political party in the US that’s devoted to intrusion of people’s private lives, and it’s not the left.
Personally, I don’t give a hoot what this guy was doing, but if the GOP wants to make other people’s personal lives their business, they don’t get a free pass when they pull shit like this. Sorry. Let me know when the House Republicans want to spend 100 million sniffing around in Sanford’s underwear drawer, like they did with Clinton.
Furthermore, Sanford works for the state of SC. Do you think it’s OK for any state worker to just pick up and leave town, unannounced, skipping work?
Maude
Sanford will say that both places begin with an A and he can’t help it if people got it all confused.
djork
The governor is giving a presser at 2.
This should be good.
Ash Can
@tim:
Don’t ask us, ask THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA, of which HE IS THE GOVERNOR, which, despite what either you or he evidently think, is a job of some gravity. I personally am absolutely nobody, and even I know that the absolute minimal proper procedure here would have been to let the second-in-command, viz. the lieutenant governor, know that he’d be out of touch for a few days and that the LG needed to be on call during that time. No one needed to know anything more, and if any questions were asked, a few plausible sentences, manufactured or not, could have covered it. And, importantly, no one would have felt any need to go hunting for further information. As long as the job were getting done, who would have cared about the rest?
In short, SOUTH CAROLINA IS A STATE OF THE UNION. IT’S NOT MARK SANFORD’S PRIVATE OFFICE, PART-TIME JOB, OR GODDAMN PARTY DECK. And he needs to act accordingly.
Face
From Argentina or Appalachia?
CaseyL
Actually, his wife seemed not so much “unconcerned” as “supremely indifferent.” Could be trouble in marital paradise – which is, I agree, no one’s business but theirs.
Lefty puritans? Because we think it’s a hoot that his staff said he was hiking on the AT on Naked Hiker Day? How does that make us puritans? We thought it was funny.
You might have had a point – IF the story hadn’t changed, what, three times?
If Sanford just wanted to get away from everything for a while – which is perfectly all right, even understandable – why didn’t he hand things over to the LG before he left? Then his staff could simply say that the Governor wanted some down time, and the LG is in charge, no problem.
But he didn’t. He didn’t, apparently, tell anyone in his office, or in the state capital, what he was doing or where he was going. You just don’t do that if you’re an executive: you let your proxy know you’re off for a few days, so the proxy is aware that they’re in charge until you get back.
He didn’t tell anyone where he was going, or even THAT he was going, and here’s another odd thing: neither his family nor his staff could contact him. So he vanishes and doesn’t tell anyone – and it doesn’t occur to him, apparently, that anyone will *ask* his family or his staff where he is; nor does it occur to him that his family or his staff would need to get a hold of him for any reason.
I think he did have some kind of personal crisis, one that panicked him or otherwise led to a breakdown of some kind, and he bolted off and changed his mind at least once about where he was going. “Argentina” seems like a really, really odd choice for a spur of the moment getaway (really: besides the Barrier Islands right there, there’s also all of the Bahamas between SC and SA), unless he knew someone there, or was meeting someone there…. in which case, the plot thickens.
Dunno about the Gay, though. Is Argentina a gay paradise? Brazil’s the one with the reputation as the place to go to really let everything hang out, but Argentina??
Thomas Levenson
@CaseyL: Argentina (and Paraguay) is the post-war Nazi paradise.
Just saying.
frodo
@The Moar You Know:
:)
“El bromista” would be the literal translation of “The Joker”, the Batman character was called, for some reason “El Guasón” which means more or less the same but is not a word that anybody would use in normal conversation.
Svensker
In order for the Chief Exec of the state to disappear without taking responsibility for what could happen while he was gone, he must have either suffered a breakdown of some sort or is a clueless, arrogant prick. Not that both couldn’t be true.
Deborah
Tim @99:
“Obviously, SOMEONE knew where he went; probably more people than we know.”
Who knew where he went? That person isn’t on his staff and isn’t his wife, two obvious candidates. His wife and staff saying “we have no idea where he is or when he’ll be back, but he does this all the time so we aren’t reporting him missing” didn’t help matters.
I mean, could any other state employee just not bother to show up without telling supervisor, supervisees, or coworkers that he was leaving, when he’d return, and how to reach him in an emergency? We’re going on vacation next week and my husband will do all that; I freelance but if I’m in mid-project I need to do that.
rikyrah
I come back after my morning workout to find that Sanford was in SOUTH AMERICA?
SOUTH AMERICA?
This has totally crossed into the realm of ‘ truth is stranger than fiction’ territory. Absolutely hilarious.
Well, now that I know it was South America..
I’m back to it being a underaged guy named Fredo or Roberto.
No wonder his White, Proper Southern Political Wife has been giving him the SHIV. She’s had ENOUGH!
joes527
@Ed Drone:
OK. The whole story is bizarre, and yes, I’m chucking over his packing for some neked hiking and then saying “WTF. Appalachian Trail … Argentina. Gonna need to flip a coin”
On a bit of a serious note however.
This cry for the security state that we paid for is worrying. The TSA’s responsibility is to see that flights are safe, not to track the movements of citizens.
Also – the whole “if he has done nothing wrong then he shouldn’t mind having his private life investigated” line, while having a certain karmic resonance, is wrong wrong wrong.
It seems that he was absent from his job without reason and without making proper arrangements so that business could be conducted in his absence. Since his job is Governor, this is unquestionably a public matter.
The rest of the details, while all funny and shit, are really just prying into (what appears to be) a very sad life. Jokes are one thing. But suggestion that the TSA should cough up records to satisfy prurient interests is a bit over the line.
patrick
Hey look, he’s got FOUR kids, so we know he likes to fuck…
And his wife has given birth FOUR times, so she’s likely pretty tired of it herowndamnedself…
DBrown
@tim: You are an asshole and so stupid you must be a republican. No governor can abandon a state without leaving someone in charge in the event of an emergency. This asswipe’s actions are beyond belief and this shit for brains asswipe must be removed from office. People’s lives were put in danger because of his actions. While disasters are rare (Torando’s for instance) they occur any time and without this asswipe, many lives could have been lost. This type of behavior is beyond justification.
J.A.F. Rusty Shackleford
@tim:
Sounds like Governor Sanford neglected to upgrade his traveling partner on the trip back.
Face
Expedia tells me its a $1100+ ticket to buy a flight to Bwaynoze Aireez if you buy it the day of.
I demand to know if this was bawt by the tackspayahs.
Little Dreamer
@Punchy:
Prostitutes in SC don’t fuck on St. Daddy’s day. They don’t work on the sabbath, they’re in church instead.
;)
BTW, the freeper thread on this is hilarious.
Slide
Watching the GOP self-destruct has become very very enjoyable. This bozo was one of their shining lights… well, not quite as shining as Senator Ensign of course.. but up there. The family values guys sure do engage in some strange behavior.
binzinerator
I saw a suggestion in a comment over some other blog (can’t recall it now so sorry no linky) that was actually a real attempt to find a possible non-scandalous explanation for this. Basically, the suggestion was he was on a trade mission (and not sex trade) involving negotiations that needed to be kept out the the limelight.
Now I’m being serious here — and I understand it’s a lot of ‘ifs’ — but what if Sanford was asked to go to Argentina for some diplomatic purpose, one which needed to be on the QT for the time being? That would get him off the hook for sure, and might explain why his staff and wife made excuses for him. And it might explain why the LG wasn’t put in charge in his abscence (or maybe he was and just played dumb on it).
Still, it seems such a scenario could be done without triggering the “Where’s Waldo” circus (publicity which you’d think they were trying to avoid in the first place). A simple press release that the governor was on a junket or was away on official business at some undisclosed location would have sufficed.
I guess we’ll know at his press conf. But if he had a legit purpose with instructions to keep this low key he totally fucked it up.
Either way I can’t see how it won’t cost him politically. If it’s legit and is explained to the public, people will still be likely to remember the bizarreness and mystery, and being known as a cipher or something of shadowy operator is not good for a future pres candidate.
And so another gooper presidential possible self-destructs.
In the words of Lou Reed: “It’s like what my painter friend Donald said to me. Stick a fork in their ass and turn them over, they’re done. “
Slide
so a Gov leaves the country for 7 days without telling anyone
his wife has no idea where he is
his four children have no idea where their daddy is on Father’s day.
his staff has no idea where he is
his wife said he went to do some “writing”
his staff said he went to work on some “projects”
his staff then lies and says that they heard from him and that he is ok and hiking on some unspecified trail
someone tips off a reporter that he will be arriving on a plane from Argentina
he says that he doesn’t know what all the fuss is about.
do I have this about right?
Deborah
Re the TSA, they wouldn’t be involved unless the governor was reported missing, and then they would report to the police or FBI, not to random interested citizens. His wife and staff’s “we have no clue where he is, when he’ll return, or how to get in touch with him, but he is Totally Okay, He Is Not Missing” was designed to not launch that search.
The question is raised, of course, of exactly when it would be okay to worry. Two weeks? A month?
Jason
Yeah, I’m echoing Casey’s point. If Rendell pulled this shit – especially right now – I would be absolutely livid, and I’d look forward to his resignation and subsequent disgrace at the national level. And per Rendell, I already do. If this were a reality where I could up and leave job and family for five days to go where I wanted without notice, and come back saying “None of your business where I went, really” well, more power to him then.
I’d vote against him just for the utter, spectacular stupidity of his “coastline” lie.
Slide
binzinerator
buddy…. I have a bridge here in Brooklyn that I would like to sell ya. I am sure the Obama State Department would want Sanford representing them on some secret diplomatic mission to Argentia. He has a better chance of going with, “I lost my fuckin mind” than that story.
Slide
Oh, don’t get me wrong, I like it too but that doesn’t mean it is appropriate for someone in his position of responsibility. Grossly irresponsible and selfish to not tell your wife and kids that you are going out of the country for a week. On Father’s Day no less. Who would want someone so selfish and narcissistic in charge of their government?
Little Dreamer
@Slide:
I get the feeling the reporter who spotted him was sitting right outside a security screening area at the behest of his employer (there was probably another one staked out at the SC airport where one of the vehicles was found).
i don’t think anyone tipped him off.
Jen R
@tim:
No, we’re laughing our asses off. Is it that hard to tell the difference?
JK
@tim:
Mark Sanford is an arrogant, lying, scumbag prick. When you’re a governor you can’t just decide to go native, go Waldo, or go Galt. In case you hadn’t noticed, governors have a lot of fucking responsibilities.
Sanford does not deserve an ounce of sympathy. He has clearly demonstrated that he’s a clueless fucking jackass so he deserves all the hounding and scrutiny the media can muster.
Lyle4
From TPM:
Does Sanford even understand what his job is? You know, the fact that it’s sorta important?
passerby
@Slide:
But here’s the thing, Slide. Sanford is a bold and unreasonable objectionist to Obama’s stimulus package among other things. This makes him a political enemy. I can easily imagine offshore, moneyed entities taking an interest in Sanford as their proxy candidate for POTUS in 2012.
It isn’t completely outside of the realm of possibilities.
(Sanford, however, is not clever enough by half to participate at that level of governance given the unnecessary fiasco his most recent trip has become.)
spudvol
“ABC’s Joe Goldman reports that a US embassy official in Buenos Aires tells him that the embassy had “absolutely no idea” that Sanford was in Argentina. The embassy official added that this comes “from out of left field — it would be extremely odd that a US governor would not check in with the embassy.””
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/6/24/746212/-Sanford-was-AWOL-in-Argentina
Ned R.
@JK: When you’re a governor you can’t just decide to go native, go Waldo, or go Galt.
Perhaps he went commando.
LarryB
@Punchy:
I’d never heard that one before. You made me spit coffee.
binzinerator
@Slide:
Yeah, I know. It’s plausible for less than a New York minute. But it seemed to me that among legit explanations it would seem to be the best. Which just highlights how fucking bizarre and twisted and weird this whole episode was. Any legit explanation of this would require a buttload of naivete and a massive suspension of disbelief.
I personally think he couldn’t handle the setbacks and the pressure and he skipped out, running away until he got a hold of himself again. And I think the stories of him picking up and going off hiking or on trips or whatnot in the past without telling his security or other people are true — because this is what he does when the pressure gets too much for him — he checks out of his responsibilities for a while. But this disappearance was too egregious, lasted too long for the old excuses to work.
He’s not fit for office. He’s a danger to the people of SC and possibly to himself.
update:
@Lyle4
And that for me totally destroys any legit explanation, even the effin’ stupid one I came up with.
The guy needs professional help. And the people of SC need someone capable of handling the responsiblities and pressures of the office.
Cat Lady
Will the wife be at his side for the press conference? That’s the tell. If she isn’t, we’ll know for absolute sure that whatever he says is a lie, unless he confesses.
Elie
I’m with Deborah. They made up the AT story so that he would not be considered “missing”, which would have started a search revealing where he actually was…
There is way more here and I hope for once, that the media does their job instead of their ususal Republican boot licking.
Slide
a reporter was tipped off and waiting for him to disembark from his plane as this article says:
Slide
Nothing is I suppose. We’ll just have to all wait till 2pm to see where this all goes but I don’t see too many scenarios where he doesn’t come out looking completely unfit for the Governor’s job much less the one at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
Little Dreamer
@Slide:
I stand corrected, I did not see that.
@Lyle4:
He didn’t check in with the embassy because he didn’t want them tracking him to the drugs and/or hookers. Check in with the embassy, you’re probably invited to dinner with some political types, and that didn’t mesh with his plans to get funky with some beautiful women.
Max Peck
LOL I used this line on BOB yesterday.
Face
TPM has a post up about just how ridiculous it would be for a rich, white American to show up in a somewhat shady urban monstrosity without any protection, to drive on a “coastline” that is crammed with cars and traffic and general chaos.
I think Punchy is right — until someone can prove he was on this flight, both there and back, I’m reserving skepticism that he was even in Argentina.
Slide
Little Dreamer….. it hasn’t been discussed much but the fact that “someone” knew where he was and tipped off the reporter is interesting. He was also picked up at the airport by someone who whisked him off. Who are these people and are they with the Gov’s staff? if so why did they allow the hiking story to remain out there when they knew it was not true. Lots and lots of questions.
passerby
@Slide:
Yeah. Feels like his impromtu vacation was perhaps nothing more than a visit to Tryst City. His failure to have his spouse on his side makes his decision to do this even more politically (and personally) inept.
You’d think being an Anti-Obama-ist he would do a better job of covering his ass. Not to mention he has political enemies within the borders of his home state that would be glad to drag his dirty laundry out of the closet for all to see.
Instead, he’s heaping mud on himself…and for what?
Ash Can
Actually, regarding the embassy bit, I can understand how a governor there on an entirely personal R&R visit would either neglect to or choose not to notify the embassy. Maybe I’m unaware of some sort of requirement and therefore wrong, but I don’t see the need to notify the embassy other than standard procedure, common courtesy, or both. I suppose there could be security issues involved with someone of that kind of political stature. But if this is a simple breach of etiquette, it doesn’t strike me as much of an issue.
Dereliction of duty, on the other hand…
Poopyman
@jk
The media you’re hoping for are all dead or retired. The sad crew we have now will merely report whatever fantastic story Governor Goucho weaves this afternoon. It’s a perfect opportunity for a local journalist to make a name for themselves, but I’m not hopeful that there’s anyone out there that’s got it in them.
Interrobang
tim’s been busy — it posted that exact same comment at Hullabaloo, only personally addressed to Digby, for extra misogyliciousness, a while ago. Nice to know the paid astroturfers are still around.
Fern
@Face:
I wonder if Expedia could be used to check the schedules for flights between Buenos Aires and Atlanta.
tripletee (formerly tBone)
@tim:
Oh dear. Concern troll is … concerned about outrage trolling.
Personally, I’m not outraged at all – I’m too busy laughing my ass off and inhaling popcorn. The only way this could be any better is if he was halted at customs for trying to smuggle two wetsuits and a dildo into the country.
passerby
@Interrobang:
Aha! Good catch Interrobang.
and this brings another point to the forefront. We’ve seen Iran try to suppress news of its actions against protesters. We’ve see Sanford’s attempt to sneak out called out. And we’ve seen blog readers catch astroturfers trying to spin a pack of lies by belittling the commentariat of the blogosphere.
Thanks to technology/communications, they can’t get away with that bullshit anymore.
lou
Except he didn’t notify the Lt. Gov., you know, the guy who is supposed to be in charge in his absense, especially when he’s out of the country. So what if his plane crashed, as happened to that Air France flight out of Brazil? And no one would have known for days.
Or what if a freight train derailed in SC and caused a toxic gas leak that killed 50 people? The LG couldn’t declare a state of emergency because his stupid, irresponsible governor went AWOL without making the proper arrangements.
Or what if he was robbed and beaten in Buenos Aires? Didn’t notify the embassy, so that would be a total national embarrassment.
There’s a lot of scenarios that have nothing to do with prurience that shows Mark Sanford is an irresponsible douchebag who has no business being a governor, let alone a President.
Lyle4
Dammit, instead of some juicy Argentinian hooker story, we may just have a cut and dry adultery thing going on. Boooooooooring.
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/06/source_there_is_some_evidence_sanford_was_not_alon.php?ref=fpblg
The Moar You Know
@Little Dreamer: Fixed for likely accuracy.
Ash Can
@Lyle4: OK, things are finally starting to make sense then.
So who’s going to be the first right-wing genius to figure out a way to blame Obama for all of this?
Jay in Oregon
@Slide:
How many people voted for John McCain again?
Cathy W
@lou:
This.
What bothers me here, and I know I’m not a resident of South Carolina so my botherment is mostly meaningless, is that he just basically walked off the job for the better part of a week. If he needs a vacation, or hell, if he needs some hush-hush semi-alone time, sure, he can do that – but he owes it to the people of his state to make arrangements for either keeping in contact or signing things over to the LtGov for the duration.
Poopyman
I think I may have discovered his musical inspiration.
Englischlehrer
I am in Germany counting down 59 minutes until the press conference. Please give a link so i can watch it live!
Jay in Oregon
@tim:
Projection troll is projecting…
Fern
@Lyle4:
Well, going to Argentina is a pretty dramatic way of getting out of this week’s counselling session.
Little Dreamer
@Cathy W:
I’m not a South Carolinian, but I am the mother of a South Carolinian and so I’m highly pissed.
Apparently Sanford thinks that, like a teacher, he doesn’t have to report to work, or even call in, when the legislature isn’t in session.
Mike P
@passerby:
Folks from South Carolina just like rebels. No further explanation is needed.
tammanycall
@El Cid:
There are comments on the bigger media blogs saying local Argentinan media are starting to call bullshit on his story. So far, every news outlet I’ve seen is basing their coverage on the AP reporting, so I’d be curious to see what emerges once the people on the ground look into car rentals, hotels, and restaurant bills. If a rich, white South Carolina governor visits rural Argentina for six days, somebody’s gonna notice.
/dramatic music, etc.
Wag
visiting the tomb of Juan Peron in the dead of winter must have been an emotional homecoming.
Kilkee
@Ann B. Nonymous: Gone Galtcho?
SiubhanDuinne
@ Ash Can 153
I work for a foreign government and my experience is that any time a government official at ANY level (I’m talking even mayors and city councilmen) comes into the US or a consulate territory, their office notifies us in advance. We are not usually asked to meet ‘n’ greet, nor indeed do anything, but it is accepted protocol to let the action Embassy or Consulate know about travel plans.