A Sanford Political Death Wish?

Wife moves out, mistress moving in?

By ROBERT A. GEORGE

Updated 7:30 PM EDT, Thu, Aug 13, 2009

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Mark Sanford -- forgotten for few weeks because of multiple celebrity deaths and the health-care reform/town-hall brawls -- has finally come out of hiding. Last week, his wife Jenny, who had announced -- at the height of the Appalachian Trail/Argentine mistress, ahem, affair -- that she was going to try to keep the family together, packed up the boys and moved out of the governor's mansion.

She headed down to the family estate in Charleston where the boys will go to school

Jenny was barely out the door before a South Carolina blog started speculating that perhaps this would be the moment when Sanford would bring his professed "soulmate", Maria Belen Chapur, across the border to stay with him. Now, what gave the story some credibility was that the blog FITSNews.com is run by an old Sanford staffer. In other words, someone who might "be familiar with the governor's thinking," as the story goes.

The truth is, if the governor is going to bring his girlfriend up to South Carolina, he may as well resign right now. Just before his wife moved out, an AP story revealed that Sanford had used state aircraft for personal and political activity (though not, apparently, any personal activity down in Argentina). Republicans are still working behind the scenes to try to get him to resign. Barring that, both parties are pondering impeachment proceedings.

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Cheating Politicians

Better believe that the good people of South Carolina and their elected representatives are not going to take lying down their philanderer governor cavorting in the official state mansion's bedroom with his mistress.

This is a Bible Belt state, after all. Besides, after all the jobs South Carolina has lost to Mexico and the rest of South America, no way that the state will want a South American honey, um, "insourced" as first lady -- even assuming that Sanford got a quick divorce and married lovely Maria.

Not. Going. To. Happen.

If Sanford's still in contact with Ms. Chapur, as reports suggest he is, he may as well make the decision himself -- or it will be made for him: Either the governorship for the remaining 18 months of his term -- or his girlfriend. Can't have both.

New York writer Robert A. George blogs at Ragged Thots. Follow him on Twitter.