An American Lion

Jenny Sanford, August, 2009

The ongoing saga of America’s worst governor, Mark Sanford of South Carolina, drags on like a nightmare:

First Lady Jenny Sanford issued a statement this morning saying she is filing for divorce from Gov. Mark Sanford.

In a two-page filing made this morning in Charleston County family court, Jenny Sanford asked for a divorce on grounds of adultery.

The news comes the same week as Gov. Sanford was censured but spared impeachment by a House subcommittee investigating allegations that Sanford misused campaign money, and state planes and other assets. Those allegations came to light after the governor secretly left the state for five days in June to visit his Argentine lover.

In a mid-day statement today, Gov. Sanford responded to his estranged wife’s announcement by saying: “While it is not the course I would have hoped for, or would choose, I want to take full responsibility for the moral failure that led us to this tragic point. Jenny is a great person, and has been a remarkable wife, mother and first lady. She has been more than gracious these last six months and gone above and beyond in her patience and commitment to put the needs of others in front of her own. While our family structure may change, I know that we will both work earnestly to be the best mom and dad we can be to four of the finest boys on earth.”

In her court filing, Jenny Sanford said “the defendant has engaged in a sexual relationship with a woman other than the plaintiff (Jenny Sanford). The plaintiff has not condoned that relationship and is informed and believes that she is entitled to a divorce … on ground of adultery.”

If Mark Sanford were a Democrat, he’d have resigned months ago. If Mark Sanford were held to the same standards as John Edwards or Elliot Spitzer, his political career would be finished. And yet, this man sits in the South Carolina governor’s mansion like a clown while his wife files for divorce and tries to move on with her life. What a tragic mistake for the Republican Party. So what if a South Carolina Democrat takes the governorship for a few years? South Carolina is reliably Republican. No Democrat is ever going to threaten that reality. Better to be on the side of the scorned wife than the flaky, unethical freak show that is soon to be her ex-husband.

What a disgrace.