Posted under Election 2012 & Republican Party
because apparently that is who gets all the action. Slightly gawky and awkward with women? No worries. Get yourself elected, and you’ll be gettin’ busy with the ladies in no time. 
In all seriousness, sex is the universal vice of men. Not every man is prone to over indulge in alcohol. Not every man is prone to excessive gambling. Nor drugs. Nor corruption by money. But very few men aren’t vulnerable here. That is why it takes so many otherwise prudent and decent people down. Stanford could say no to Obama’s money, and we as conservatives owe him for that, but he couldn’t resist this temptation even with so much on the line.
This is why character matters. Why it is the starting point without which policy positions are meaningless. Many during the Clinton Lewinsky saga said the affair didn’t matter. That it was only prudes and Puritans who cared. It was just about sex after all. But it matter in many way BECAUSE it was about sex. A man who falls here is blackmailable. A man who falls here is perpetually distracted by his erotic interests and fears of discovery. And while in many ways it is hypocritical for them to do so, the people do hold you accountable for it, particularly if you are married.
The sad part of this, other than the hurt to his family, is that the “Republicans” (In Name Only) who criticized Sanford for not taking Obama’s bribe money deserved to be challenged for their treachery. There needed to be a faction of “Sanford Republicans” in South Carolina giving these clowns grief and hopefully even primarying them. But that is all up in smoke. The Obama bribe takers can rest easy now.
Now that I’m done preaching, as far as the politics are concerned, I agree with Patroon that Sanford pretty much lost me with the “I defer to Newt” remark. Also Patroon said, “there was just something about Sanford, call it a gut feeling, that didn’t make him presidential timber in my eyes,” and I agree. Not so much that he couldn’t perform the job of President, but that he couldn’t get elected President. He has always struck me as a bit awkward. As someone not entirely comfortable in the spotlight and with people. He seems like the kind of kid in High School who would have been on the chess team (I was) and/or going to a Star Trek convention (I never did), and slightly oblivious to it all. He must have some political skills to get elected multiple times and to be the leader of the Republican Governor’s Association, but in an age when television matters so much, I just didn’t see him going over big in a presidential campaign. Maybe Weaver or Jack Hunter if he reads this could comment on what Sanford is like in person or how he is perceived in South Carolina. That would be much appreciated.
This whole disappearing to Argentina affair (pun intended), reinforces that impression. What could he possibly have been thinking? Did he really think he could get away with just leaving the country and no one would know he was gone and no one would ask pesky questions? This strikes me as a guy who was just “chucking it all” so to speak in desperation. Maybe he didn’t want to break it off with the lady from a distance, but he could have flown her up here or something. It seems to me either a desperation move consequences be damned or slightly out of touch with reality.
roho on 25 Jun 2009 at 1:40 am #
Filmer………..I agree. Character is everything, and it is centered around self-discipline!…..DENIAL OF OUR DESIRES!……He is a weak-ass loser! Can I be critical? HELL YEA!…….I expect “Leadership and Character” out of my elected officials….With 300 million U.S. Citizens, I expect the best, just as I do out of my Olympians!…And I want accountability and inspection……If that’s a problem, then I suggest that they become migrant workers. Even a short order cook is inspected by the county health department?……..Do they sometimes get “Set-Up” like Eliott Spitzer?……Sure…..But almost only when they are actually guilty.
I once read where Billy Graham originally structured his ministry, where under no circumstances was he ever alone with a woman without 2 church members present?….BRILLIANT!……Elected officials of WISDOM should do the same.
Lord Peter on 25 Jun 2009 at 9:22 pm #
“A man who falls here is blackmailable.”
So true. And this is the point that the mainstream media strove so mightily to ignore about Bill Clinton affairs. Indeed, despite the fact pretty much every knew he was a womanizer, including Hillary (surely), he still denied, denied, denied when caught. And that means he was very much blackmailable. Its not so difficult to imagine that, if Drudge could ferret out the truth, then China or the Mossaud, etc. might have had negatives . . . .
This why “private” matters become “public” for statesmen. The GOP still seems to have some sense of the this, but the Donkeys just don’t care. How reckless and irresponsible.
Sean Scallon on 26 Jun 2009 at 3:30 pm #
“She is driven, maybe even more than he is.”
This is in regards to Mrs. Sanford from the TAC profile of him. If this is true then she was doing a lot to promote his presidential camapaign. Perhaps this little affair was his way of rebelling against her, saying he didn’t feel right to run nor worthy of it. It would explain why she knew about the affair five months ago and did nothing about it.
While his behavior might disqualify him from being President, I hope he doesn’t resign. Resigning would only help the ambitious lieutenant governor who would then become the incumbent. If the legislature wants to impeach him, then it should do so but since he is term limited, the remaining tenure of office isn’t going to matter except to frustrate those who would-be governor. As much as Sanford hurt himself with this behavior, this is still a power play.
Harold Crews on 28 Jun 2009 at 12:55 pm #
Secrets are very expensive. Most people end up not being able to pay for them.