This really bothers me:
South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford confirmed Wednesday that he spent last weekend trying to rekindle a relationship with an Argentine woman he once called his “soul mate.”
“As a matter of record, everybody in this room knows exactly who I was with over the weekend,” Sanford told reporters during a press conference. “That is no mystery to anybody given what I said last summer. And you know the purpose was obviously to see if something could be restarted on that front, given the rather enormous geographic gulf between us, and time will tell, I don’t know if it will or it won’t.”
One of the things that really grated during the entire Sanford affair was that, to me at least, it seemed like Sanford really and truly was conflicted. It wasn’t one of those scandals where someone paid someone for a blowjob in a rest stop bathroom or hired a rentboy to “lift his luggage.” I’m not going to go into my thoughts about what kind of person does this to his wife, but at the same time, his behavior in the press conferences betrayed that he was obviously deeply in love with this woman from Argentina.
He should have done the smart thing and resigned, divorced his wife, and moved to Argentina, spending the rest of his life sipping mojitos at an outdoor cafe with the woman he clearly loves. But he didn’t, so now the press feels it is ok to go panty-sniffing at every opportunity.
Unless he is breaking the law or letting the voters of SC down again, this stuff should be off limits. It’s just tawdry.
<via>
shortstop
No one seems to have asked her what she thought about it. She doesn’t appear to ever have been that into him.
Yeah, I’m engaging in tawdry speculation. I’m in that kind of mood this morning.
General Egali Tarian Stuck
Why do you hate America and true love John Cole?
cleek
totally agree.
besides, there are plenty of Hollywood celebs to tear down, who will appreciate the attention.
Shygetz
I dunno…I happen to think that character is very important in politics, and this kind of thing says worlds about his character. As you said, Sanford should have divorced his wife and tried to work things out with this woman he apparently loves. But he didn’t; he clung to his wife and his office while still trying to pursue his mistress. Shouldn’t the citizens of SC be made aware of how he handles such a test of character?
James Hare
I guess there is something to be said for a politician who engages in consensual sex with another adult. So many of our politicians can’t even manage to get all of those boxes checked.
Mike Kay
I get ya point.
At the same time, what goes around, comes around. I know two wrongs don’t make a right. But I’d have more sympathy for the dude if he didn’t kick clinton when he was down.
J.A.F. Rusty Shackleford
How fucking dare anyone out there make fun of Mark Sanford after all he has been through!
He lost his love, he went through a divorce. He has two fuckin kids.
He’s going through a custody battle. All you people care about is….. readers and making fun of him.
HE’S A HUMAN! (ah! ooh!) What you don’t realize is that Mark Sanford is giving you all this funny and all you do is write a bunch of crap about him.
He hasn’t walked the trail in months. All you people want is MORE! MORE-MORE, MORE: MORE!.
LEAVE HIM ALONE! You are lucky he even governed for you BASTARDS!
LEAVE MARK SANFORD ALONE!…..Please.
Keith Olbermann talked about governance and said if Sanford was a professional he would’ve pulled it off no matter what.
Speaking of governance, when is it gubernatorial to publicly bash someone who is going through a hard time.
Leave Mark Sanford Alone Please…. !
Leave Mark Sanford alone!…right now!….I mean it.!
Anyone that has a problem with him you deal with me, because he is not governing well right now.
LEAVE HIM ALONE!
Funkhauser
Mojitos as in the Cuban drink?
Nah, he should enjoy the very good and improving wines coming out of Mendoza, Argentina. And the coffee there isn’t bad, mostly due to the large number of Italian immigrants.
Punchy
Ya wanna know why, John? Because Sanford pretends to be the Party of Family Values. The Party of Responsibility. The Party of Fiscal Conservativeness. Yet the bastard cheated on his wife and kids, completely blew off his professional and personal obligations, putting the state at risk, and tried to charge the whole thing to the First National Bank of Taxpayers.
That’s more hypocrisy than can fill the ocean. That’s enough chutzpah for even Joe Lieberman to think, “damn, that’s a lotta chutzpah”. THIS is why the media wont leave him alone, IMO — a lot of deserved “taste of your own medicine” treatment for these lying, cheating, theiving pricks.
/rant over
kommrade reproductive vigor
Wake me up when fRightwing snot rags start to give a fuck about other people’s conflicts, many of which the fRighties actively create. They rely on a public that is equal parts outraged and titillated by “moral failings” so they can keep beating the Family Values drum.
Fuck em and turn up the Kleig lights.
Maude
The Clintons opened the door to making this acceptable in modern politics.
They played martyr during the Repubs impeachment hearings.
Even now you hear it was only sex. Never mind that it was in the official office of the President. Never mind that Clinton has the power and Monica was 21 years old. Doesn’t matter. The Clintons were seen as victims.
It’s hard to imagine that there was a time when Reagan was considered too risky to run for president because he was divorced.
PTirebiter
I think Sanford is old enough to define his boundaries for himself. He doesn’t have to talk to these guys, on the other hand, they have to talk to him. I agree that it sucks, but we crossed that Rubicon some time ago.
DonBelacquaDelPurgatorio
Meh. I get the distinct impression that Sanders wants and likes the attention he is getting over this. The press is just indulging him, if I am right. And why not? This stuff sells papers.
neill
He’s a weird dude and this pining romantic love bit is about the only thing revelatory of any humanity…a’course, that small bit is a ton more than most politicians…most all of them are borderline sociopaths.
Even Obama (and I’m close to being a Obamatron, me own self) said that blatantly sociopathic thingie yesterday about being responsible for the drones killin’ innocents…like he meant it. “War’s tough” at that point sounded like “Bein’ President’s hard work…” said often by you-know-who.
We’re all just paper maché dummies to them guys. And this stoopid sand lapper’s crush on his sweetie refreshing. Vastly immature, but refreshing.
NameRequired
Mojitos?, wtf are mojitos?.
In Buenos Aires you drink wine, beer, etc.
Coffe may be for those of us that dont drink.
Mate of course.
And beautiful women, the biggest concentration of beautiful women in the world is right here
cat48
Alex
From the article it appears his wife divorced him.
cleek
@neill:
yeah. i cringed a bit when i heard that.
if killing civilians really upsets you, one way to help stop that would be to eliminate the possibility of creating large explosions in their neighborhoods.
thomas Levenson
Amen, both on the notion that this is his business now, and because this is a truly boring story at this point.
Middle aged man works his love life. Dog bites man.
(And no, the “character matters in politics” argument doesn’t cut it for me here — he’s done in politics, and his state and party have already done what they are going to do to him now.)
((And no, the pound the Rethugs notion doesn’t cut it with me either. Hammer on McCollum and Rekers all you want: that speaks not just to character but to consequences for the human lives those scum muck with. But spending time on this even from a tactical point of view seems to me to be stupid as well as unnecessary.))
PTirebiter
@Maude: The Clinton’s opened the door to what being acceptable?
Citizen_X
@Maude:
Oh fuck off, Ms. Pilgrim. It is acceptable, because it’s none of our damn business, and it certainly doesn’t require a 50 million dollar investigation, spectacle, and impeachment.
de stijl
@NameRequired:
I’d vote for Iceland, but to each his own.
Nutella
@Punchy:
No, the media won’t leave him alone because sex scandals are easier and more fun to write about than actually important issues like the economy.
I am amazed that the Argentinian is still interested in Sanford though. Ick.
Poopyman
@cleek:
Yeah! Lord knows that Sanford hates talking about his love life. Over and over and …
toujoursdan
This is a guy who has campaigned against gay rights, denial of benefits for single parent welfare recipients and other “family values” issues. If you are going to talk the talk, you should walk the walk.
Poopyman
@J.A.F. Rusty Shackleford:
When is the Youtube version coming out?
russell
I’m wit cole and cleek. The guy fell in love with somebody who wasn’t his wife. Messy, but not my problem. He should have let his staff know he was out of the country. True dat, and again, not my problem, and not really anybody’s problem anymore.
I appreciate that right-wingers like to make a big deal out of this stuff. That’s one of the reasons I AM NOT ONE. Yeah, it makes them hypocrites, but everybody’s hypocritical about something. Human nature, that.
Argentine women vs Icelandic is a very, very tough call, but I do note that Icelandic women do not dance the tango.
Advantage, Argentina. At least in my book.
Fern
Know where else there is hypocrisy? I just checked on infidelity statistics – they are wildly inconsistent, but it looks like anywhere from 30 to 60% of married/partnered people have an affair at some point in their lives and many as 80% of marriages are affected by an affair by one or the other partner.
So why do people hold politicians to higher standards than they hold themselves?
Granted the Sanford thing was tacky and he made quite a spectacle of himself – but there are a lot of things to go after Sanford on besides his sexual activity.
Maude
@PTirebiter:
I’ll answer with another question.
What did Bill Clinton do in the oval office?
Bill H
No, he ditched the woman he was married to. He ditched the woman he “loved.” He postured and posed and paraded around in front of the press with his weeping and his soul searching and his bullshit. He made a big process out of keeping himself at the center of attention, like a typical greedy, self-centered, ego-driven asshole office holder.
The Moar You Know
I hope – I really do – that he finds what he is so obviously looking for. And if he does, I hope that he can come to understand that he is a raging hypocritical prick, and stop being one.
Zifnab
@toujoursdan: That’s cool and all, but it’s not for Sanford’s sake that we should ditch the coverage. It’s for our own.
I know it may have missed your attention, but we’ve got a Climate Bill pending, an Immigration debate brewing, the biggest HCR legislation in 50 years just having passed, pressing 10% unemployment, a massive oil spill, two wars, scandals in half a dozen major banks, multiple states running deficits upwards of 20% of their tax revenues, flooding in Tennessee, and a thousand other smaller national events.
You could be talking about the health of a dozen major US industries. You could be investigating environmental concerns along the Gulf Coast. You could be interviewing any number of candidates in key House and Senate races across the country. Hell, you could be doing another story on Tea Baggers.
Instead, it’s the endless, mindless obsession with Mark Sanford’s underpants. Not even a story about South Carolina politics. Just Page Six gossip crap.
AxelFoley
I still don’t understand how this dude didn’t get booted out of office. I could give a fuck about his affair–that’s between him and his wife. My thing is, dude abandoned his post and didn’t tell ANYONE he was leaving, not just the state of South Carolina, but the COUNTRY. He didn’t even tell his lt. governor he was taking off.
That alone should have gotten him removed from office.
Maude
@Citizen_X:
Be nice.
Clinton brought this on himself. The defenders were saying it was only sex.
I didn’t state my personal opinion about the the bj.
If Clinton had settled the Paula Jones case in the beginning, none of the Monica stuff would have happened.
He had to settle that case in the end.
It was the lies that got him.
SRW1
I agree with that. But it’s not what the dude decided to to. He still seems to want to have as much of the cake and eat it. The way I understand it, the divorce was initiated by his wife and resignation is an option HE chooses not to execute.
Stan of the Sawgrass
@Shygetz:
If “marital fidelity” is an unimpeachable standard of a person’s “character,” don’t expect to elect anyone except churchy prigs and very lucky high-school sweethearts. The 50% divorce rate disqualifies most of us, and if you need a note from a marriage counselor to run for office, we probably deserve what we get. I know, I know– “It’s the hypocrisy, Stupid.” But a liberal Dem who supports marriage equality, abortion rights, etc. will still have to share a pillory with David Vitter and Mark Sanford when his marriage fails (or “her”.)
AxelFoley
@NameRequired:
What, did Brazil fall off the map?
fortygeek
@Punchy: This. ‘Nuff said.
Poopyman
@The Moar You Know:
Oh, he has. It’s called “attention”. As long as he keeps talking about it at press conferences it’ll keep getting press. Funny how that works.
As for her? I’m surprised she’s still interested in him, but maybe she needs the attention too. Who knows? If it were some female governor chasing after me I’d want to stay out of the spotlight.
toujoursdan
@Zifnab:
All those things are important but irrelevant here. The reason this 6 page gossip is important is because of the vast influence of the religious right in shaping the dialogue on marriage equality and other issues.
Lost Left Coaster
Mojitos? This is Argentina! He would be eating thick juicy steaks and sipping red wine. At an outdoor restaurant. At midnight. Argentina is such a wonderful place…
shortstop
Isn’t the point really that “family values” politicians hold the populace to a higher standard than they hold themselves?
AxelFoley
@Poopyman:
If Jennifer Granholm was chasing after me, you’d see my mug all over TV.
Punchy
I cant comment of the media’s motivation for writing it, but rather I’d like to revel in the glee I get by reading it.
It’s not your problem b/c you probably dont live in SC. If you did, it’d certainly be a big problem.
Shygetz
@Stan of the Sawgrass: First of all, we’re not talking divorce here–we’re talking adultery. I would hope everyone can see the difference. Second, we’re also talking about a man who, when caught in his adulterous affair, decided to both proclaim his undying love for his mistress AND simultaneously proclaim his intention to reconcile with his wife. Finally, after he failed in his attempted reconciliation, he’s trying to go back to the same woman he spurned before.
Can you honestly tell me that this is not informative as to the kind of person Mark Sanford is, regardless of the hypocrisy? And can you honestly tell me that this picture of his character is not damning?
Patriot 3
When I was torn between two hot junior high girls, I was as just as conflicted as Governor Sanford was. However, my classmates told me to suck it up, be a man and finish the 8th grade. They would not let me be a drama queen. That’s the tough love that Governor Sanford needs.
Sympathy? Who can ever have any sympathy for the republican devils after what they’ve done to this country and to themselves.
Sanford should learn from the great pronouncements of kommrade reproductive vigor, JAF Rusty and many others above.
He also should have learned from his fearless leader during the first term of the God-awful regime that it was ‘hard work’ being president and having to fly first class to the play ranch all the time and act the role of a play rancher with a prop chainsaw. All of that between bike rides. Plus blowing off all of the ‘We Are Going To Be F**king Attacked!’ daily intel briefings. Heck yes, that’s hard work. But some elite ivy league slacker had to do it.
Sure it’s hard work being governor of South Carolina and having to go play in Argentina or Florida. Leaving South Carolina for anywhere is not hard work. It’s an escape. Deal with it. Be a man.
Poopyman
@Lost Left Coaster:
I am so depressingly American. The first thing I thought when I read that is “that would give me indigestion.”
Sigh.
PTirebiter
@Maude:
I was unaware that below jobs in the oval office had become acceptable. I was also under the impression that Bill closed his office door after the pizza guy left. And I’m pretty sure Ken Starr was trespassing when he kicked the door down. If a tree’s blown down in a forest and nobody hears it, does it make an unacceptable sound?
bemused
Certainly, leave the guy alone. I agree. However, he could have simply said, yes, I met with her & that’s all I have to say about it, then stfu if for no other reason than out of respect for the soulmate. He just can’t help himself from elaborating on the topic, nothing as cringing as his confession presser, but it was still too much talking.
Sanford seems to me to have a personality that everything is all about him.
cmorenc
South Carolina is accustomed to politicians prone to roguish personal behavior underneath the facade of polite southern civility. One reason South Carolinians may not be in so much of a rush to force Sanford’s resignation is because his replacement would be Lt. Gov Andre Bauer, who has his own wild streak with cars and airplanes.
True, the tolerance of South Carolina in this regard is much milder than the version that flourishes in Louisiana, and Charleston for all its antebellum charms is no mas for New Orleans. While Louisiana has Mardi Gras, South Carolina has motorcycle rallies in Myrtle Beach in the weeks around Memorial Day, one weekend for predominately white riders, one weekend predominately for blacks. Ever heard “what happens in Myrtle Beach stays in Myrtle Beach?” Didn’t think so.
Maude
@PTirebiter:
In a way, I think that bjs in the oval office are now seen as so what.
Clinton is out and about in Hatti for example.
If it were unacceptable, he would be a pariah.
Also, the ‘he only lied about sex’ seems to be less noxious than lying about money or something else.
Patty K
Shortstop is right: The Argentinian is just not that much into him especially now that he is no longer Governor, no longer has access to a lot of money via his wife and has proven himself to be emotionally unhinged.
Gregory
now the press feels it is ok to go panty-sniffing at every opportunity
“Now,” as if they ever didn’t.
AxelFoley
Who doesn’t sniff panties?
Did I say that out loud?
Sloegin
I’ll bite.
I’ll care when two things occur.
1. Sanford pays back the tax dollars used for his liaisons, and/or resigns from office.
2. The press leaves Edwards alone as well (not whether or not it’s deserved), IOKIYAR also too.
Mike in NC
Protected by a Republican attorney general and Republican legislature, for one thing. But anyone who knows Sanford is pretty sure he’ll try to lay low for a few years and then make a Nixon-style comeback at the national level.
And just the other day Sanford vetoed a 50 cent tax on a pack of cigarettes because it didn’t involve tax cuts elsewhere. They just can’t help themselves.
MBunge
“If it were unacceptable, he would be a pariah.”
Our society lacks the moral authority to make Dick Cheney a pariah. That it hasn’t done so to Bill Clinton proves nothing.
Mike
Citizen_X
@Maude:
It was the pointless hounding over nothing that brought on the lie (note the singular) over the private sexual matter.
Are you missing the point of this entire thread?
Salt and freshly ground black people
One of the best comments I’ve seen on this whole Sanford affair is this:
.
True dat.
Patriot 3
@AxelFoley:
Yes and I think Jennifer may heard you.
If I had the pick she would have been the hottest U.S. Supreme Court Justice ever. The public would have demanded that all proceedings be televised just to see her.
Seanly
He’s a complete asshat libertarian jackass of the first order. He’s a privileged twirp who deserves everything bad that happens to him. He made himself a media embarrassment and then bitches & moans about it? Screw him & the swayback horse he rode in on.
He’s brought the budget of South Carolina down from $7 billion to slightly over $5 billion. It’ll go down another $1 billion next year. Some of it is due to reduced collections, but most of it is stupid tax reductions while increasing the most regressive of taxes. This state is full of poor people (mostly brown). The roads suck, the schools suck and the state and local governments are reducing education, firefighting, law enforcement – all in the name of increasing employment through lower taxes. Funny thing is, these new jobs didn’t even materialize when the economy was good.
Fern
@shortstop: Not denying the hypocrisy of Sanford and the rest of that lot of “family values” politicians and public figures. Also not denying that Sanford handled the whole mess very, very badly. But given the prevalence of infidelity, I can’t see why his affair becomes a national story.
shortstop
Didn’t the vast majority of Republicans in the SC lege ask him to resign? And he refused to budge? Or am I misremembering?
feebog
If Sanford wanted his privacy to pursue his long distance relationship, he could have simply resigned and no one would give a shit. But he didn’t resign. Instead, he has put his state and his family through a lot of unnecessary anguish and turmoil. He is a simply a Drama Queen who loves the spotlight and craves the attention. If this had happened a year from now, when he was out of office for six months, no one would care, and it wouldn’t make page 24, let alone page 6.
Seanly
Oops, too late on my edit –
More – Sanford is hated, hated, hated by a lot of the rank and file as well as powerful Republicans (long before Argentina). SC is conservative as all get out, but not so much on the NYC-funded libertarian streak. But the Democrats are so weak here they couldn’t even beat him. We have an election in a few months & all I hear about is the Republicans. And all they want to do is more of the cut taxes in hope that it somehow draws business to the state. There are counties with 25% unemployment.
My wife & I love our house & neighborhood, but once the next 6-year federal highway funding bill comes along, I’ll be looking for a chance to get out to the West Coast. Ah, but Obama will probably screw the pooch on that one & go with the teabagger-all-infrastructure-spending-is-sokialism crowd.
Sometimes I wish the whole system would go ahead & crash so we can try again.
shortstop
Because all infidelity is not created equal. There is quite rightly a distinction made between accompanying your infidelity with loud calls for the absolute fidelity (and good hetero lovin’ — I’m winking at you, Mr. Rekers) of others, and actually walking the talk yourself.
If I weigh 400 pounds and you see me on the teevee officiously criticizing everyone else’s eating choices, you may feel inclined to mock me in a way that you wouldn’t laugh at a healthy eater making the same comments. The fact that lots of people are fat really isn’t the point.
fucen tarmal
as far as where in the world has the most beautiful women, i think it mostly depends on where you are and how horny you are at the time…aside from that profundity, eastern europe, the former warsaw pact nations obvi….
the thing about sanford is, why believe him? we really don’t know that he hasn’t conflated the whole story. i have to wonder where the attraction is for her in all of this?
more to the question of values, i think spitzer’s trysts were by far less disruptive, and as long as he paid with his own money, she was truly acting on her own agency, its the least bad possible way to about it, once you accept that some/most/ almost all are going to be going about it.
with sanford, you have to question the basic stupidity of someone who can cling to the notion that love conquers all, that late in life, or can excuse themselves from responsibility on that basis. if he did find himself “falling” the last thing he should have done was permit himself to fall further. he clearly abdicated his duties more often, and in thought, under that scenario, was barely there when he should have been governing….to quote stevie nicks, rulers make bad lovers….
sorry, sanford is the worst of the worst for being an immature child, or taking the immature child’s route if it was insincere by way of explanation.
simple sex is more understandable, and less of an interference with duty…which is why anyone cares, or should, in the first place.
shortstop
Ugh, can’t edit mine of 11:16. I wanted to say this:
There is quite rightly a distinction made between accompanying your infidelity with loud calls for the absolute fidelity (and good hetero lovin’—I’m winking at you, Mr. Rekers) of others, and being unfaithful but not publicly haranguing others for the same behavior for political points.
I recall Teddy Kennedy’s deportment during the Clarence Thomas hearings. Dude kept his head down and his eyes on the tabletop for three days. Contrast this with John Ensign, who flashily demanded that everyone from Bill Clinton to Larry Craig resign specifically because of their infidelity — and who’s still the junior senator from Nevada?
Punchy
I typed in the police’s phone number after reading the first sentence. Then I took my finger off “send” after reading the 2nd. Close call, tho.
Having said that, what 8th grader doesn’t want to be torn, between 2 hot JRH chicks. Notice the comma placement.
Gregory
@shortstop:
On top of that, let’s not forget that the affair became public when Sanford ditched his job duties to kite off to Argentina, leaving his state effectively without a Governor.
The story at first wasn’t “why is Sanford boinking this woman,” it was “where the hell is Sanford anyway?” Hence the now-classic “hiking the Appalachian Trail” excuse.
grandpajohn
As a resident of SC, the best I can tell is that Sanford himself brought up the subject of he weekend trip, which is typical of his publicity hound personna, as someone mentioned, it is always about him.
His wife was the one who filed for divorce, and has written a book.
Probably the main reason he was trying for reconciliation is that she is the one with the money who financed his start in politics
and as someone else mentioned, he also recently vetoed a tax increase on tobacco . SC has the lowest tobacco tax of any state in the union, .07 cents per pack. but the good news is the the republican controlled house overrode the veto by a large margin, and the senate is expected to do the same. Our egotistic self promoting gov has a history of not getting things passed in the legislature that is controlled by his own party, mainly because it is always his way or no way. And yes Baure is probably one of the reasons that Sanford was not removed from office. In a state with 12+ percent unemployment, he recently derided the unemployed as simply lazy and did not want to work, this from someone who has spent his life feeding from the public trough. God help us, we have the choice for our next governor as him or MacMaster ,the attorney gen who is suing to proclaim that HCR is unconstitutional.
I eagerly await the day when my wife finally wins the lottery and she can buy her dream island down in the Caribbean and we can move the hell away from this island of lunacy called South Carolina
thefncrow
TPM’s front page had a little blurb on this, and I just can’t tell if Marshall is taking the piss or he’s actually sincere and just made a poor choice of words. He puts together a little blurb about the whole situation that rather sounds sincere, and then closes with this:
Mike in NC
Good luck with that. Meanwhile, one of my favorite quotes:
After South Carolina seceded in 1860, former congressman James L. Petigru famously remarked, “South Carolina is too small for a republic and too large for an insane asylum.”
Tuffy
John, I’m sure this has been pointed out, but the panty-sniffing is completely appropriate given that Sanford is a bible-banging evangelical who ran on a platform of FAMILY VALUES(tm).
Tonybrown74
@toujoursdan:
Phoebe
Well, reality is reality. At the end of the day, I agree with Bill Maher. People tie themselves in knots, and they should just stop.
Salt and freshly ground black people
Reading more about this, it looks like this issue keeps coming up because Mark Sanford keeps bringing it up. Quite the attention whore. I hope he and his new love move to Arizona. I’d love to hear his take on her getting pulled over and asked to show ID ten times in a row.
Tonybrown74
@Maude:
Sweetie, if you honestly think that Bill Clinton was the only President to have sex (of any sort) in the Oval Office, I have a bridge to sell you …
parksideq
Really, no one’s said it yet? Guess it’s up to me…
Would it be irresponsible to speculate into Sanford’s private turmoil? It would be irresponsible NOT to.
PTirebiter
@Maude: I just don’t accept the your original premise that the Clintons opened the door to a more salacious press, or the idea that a lot of folks weren’t offended because “he only lied about sex.” It was a horrific experience for the entire country and we’ll probably never know the full extent of the damage. Sure, Bill was the engineer, but the train wreck that followed wasn’t at all inevitable. Republicans had to be on their knees, peeking through key holes to see the position Bill had put himself in, and then they made a conscious decision to put it on television. You tell me who’s behavior was the most reprehensible, who decided to inflict the most damage, to the most people, for political gain ?
keestadoll
Leave him alone: agree. Hypocritical GOP dumbfuck: agree. Poli-sexual exploits as red meat for a pop-culture (ie “news”) de-sensitized nation: agreed.
My summation: we have a fun “fourth” party that is defined not by an ideological bent that encourages debate, but rather a fun thing to giggle over while drinking appletinis. Current marquis members include Blago of the Hair, Mark Sanford, and Eric Massa. I’m calling this fourth party The Trainwreck Party.
aimai
@Punchy:
I just wanted to say that although I could care less about where Mark Sanford is hiking these days I love the concept of “level of Chutzpah” that makes Lieberman say “Oy! Now That’s Chutzpah!” I think with a little work we can turn it into something like the Sesame Street level threat assessments. Maybe the list is too long, or maybe its too hard to rank the Chutzpah in a linear fashion?
Vitter (those weren’t my diapers)
Craig (my toes get nervous in bathrooms)
Sanford (on the applachian trail)
Lieberman (everything he’s ever said)
Specter (I’m a good democrat)
Lincoln (Outside agitators)
Landrieu (I’m not a wholly owned subidiary of BP)
aimai
aimai
@Maude:
Jesus, Maude. First of all, learn to spell “Haiti.” Second of all, read “The Hunting of the President” for an in depth, fully footnoted, account of just how hard the right wing had been gunning for Clinton and how little, aside from consensual sex, they had on him. It wasn’t “the lies” that got him. It was the fucking vast right wing conspiracy that paid literally hundreds of thousands of dollars to try to gum up his presidency and then impeach him for nothing at all. Nothing.
aimai
Kathy
@Maude: Good God, would you give it a rest on the Clintons? Last time I checked, they worked it out and are still married. Not so much for Mark Sanford. Also, Bill Clinton never preached “family values” while diddling someone else. It’s the hypocrisy, not the infidelity.
Daddy-O
UNLESS…he uses sanctimony to get elected, which he has, is doing, and will continue to do.
He ran on a ‘family values’ platform, while he was shagging his Argentine lover on the Appalachian Trail. THAT AND THAT ALONE makes him a target.
If Clinton were a sexual hypocrite, I’d say the same thing. But he never used sex or morals to get elected, or at least on the same scale as every Republican does today.
Including Mark Sanford. He’s being hoisted upon the petard of HIS OWN CONSTRUCTION, and THAT ALONE is worth mentioning, spreading, repeating.
Same thing goes for Larry Craig, Diaper Dave, Ted Haggard, Dr. Rekels…hypocrites must live with their words, and their decisions. If you don’t out their hypocrisy, they will take advantage until you do.
russell
What would conservatives do without Bill Clinton?
brendancalling
you know what? Fuck Sanford and his bwoken widdle heart.
As governor, Sanford went out of his way to deny adoption rights and marriage rights to gay people, because that would threaten traditional marriage blah blah jesus blah blah.
And now i’m supposed to either have sympathy for the guy or let him alone because his version of “traditional marriage” includes sticking his dick in some woman that’s not his wife?
Please. he’s a disgusting piece of shit hypocrite who was perfectly happy to attack other people who didn’t meet his definition of tradition.
MinneapolisPipe
Buenos Aires > Columbia, South Carolina
Argentinian wine > mojito
Southern Beale
Yeah I kinda thought the same thing, except instead of sipping mojitos on the beach I thought of a robust Tempranillo.
Hell I even wrote the script.
kirkaracha
@Citizen_X: You’re off by $10 million.
Whitewater investigation: 6 years, 8 months. $60 million.
9/11 Commission: 1 year, 9 months. $15 million.
It’s all about priorities.
tony
My only problem with it is the fact that Florida taxpayers paid for his security detail during his relationship rekindling vacation.
justme
Actually, the guy should be in jail.
How traipsing of on a South American booty call on public funds isn’t criminal is beyond me.
At the very least he should have been mercilessly hounded from office, a la Spitzer.
croatoan
@Maude:
Well, gay prostitute-cum-journalist Jeff Gannon had a lot of unexplained in-and-out visits at the White House, so maybe Clinton started a trend.
Derek
@Poopyman:
You wuss!
JL
Ridiculing world class vicious hypocrites is righteous, not tawdry.
For chrissake, a year ago this guy was deemed presidential timber.
Ella in NM
Oh, for Pete’s sake, save the pity for someone else.
It has been obvious from the start that Sanford WANTED and still wants all the attention. Every step of the way was carefully choreographed to humiliate his wife into a divorce and to brag to the rest of the world about how he can still get a stiffy at 50+ years old and that some South American hottie wants him. He could have simply refused to keep telling us the intimate details long ago, and the panty sniffers would have found a new pair of BVD’s.
If I were the Argentinian woman, I’d run a million miles from this creep–anyone who would continue to broadcast his every thought regarding our relationship deserves to go live his life out in a Ramada Inn “Lava Lounge” sipping piss-warm Budweiser, not hanging with me in an exotic foreign escape destination.
Lisa K.
Whether we like it or not, he is still a public servant, and what he does is of general interest. If he didn’t want the scrutiny he should have, as noted, resigned. That he didn’t makes me somewhat less than sympathetic to his issues with the press. It makes me want to tell him to build a goddamn bridge and get over it.
Now, having said that, I hopes someday someone will love *me* as much as he clearly loves this woman, fucked up as it may be.
Lisa K.
@Maude:
LOL!!!
Which is why she made sure she was front and center at his public appearances, why she scouted out his “other women” and threw a shitfit in his office over the prospect that he was doing Eleanor Mondale, why she went on talk shows and signed book deals afterwards.
The idea that Monica Lewinsky was some ingenue who had to be plied with madeira to get into bed is a joke. She knew exactly what she was doing and exactly what she wanted out of it.
Quin
@Shygetz: If good character is to be held as important in politics, you aren’t going to end up with many politicians, are you?
Quin
@Lisa K.: Exactly! Absolutely spot on. Perfect comment!
Admiral_Komack
Mark Sanford & Jenny Sanford were made for each other…they won’t shut the fuck up!