“I don’t know how this thing got blown out of proportion,”

A gem of a quote from South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford in a news conference addressing his week-long disappearance. Really, you don’t? Kind of a skewed perspective. Let’s break it down:
You just admitted to lying to your staff, the media, the lieutenant governor, and the people of South Carolina.

• You admitted to having an ongoing affair of over a year with a woman you’ve been working with on a Christian Bible Study no less.
• You left your state without a leader or a plan for a transfer of power in the event of an emergency.
• You showed not just egregious judgment but also complete disregard to your position as governor of South Carolina.
• You didn’t seem to know that the Appalachian Trail does not in fact go through the state you govern (is this possible?)
• You found it plausible to think there would be no paper-trail of an out-of-the-country flight, and in turn no consequences.
• Your wife couldn’t have seemed less concerned about the fact that she didn’t know where you were.
• Before admitting at the news conference that you were actually in Argentina you spoke of your love of hiking and how you used to guide hiking trips (lovely sentiment)

It doesn’t seem all that blown out of proportion to me. Kind of seems to me it’s more of a ‘can open, worms everywhere’ situation. My guess is the wider the can opens, the more worms might come out.

As a member of the U.S. House in 1998, Sanford suggested that then-President Bill Clinton resign over his affair with Monica Lewinsky, saying: “Based on the evidence I’ve seen, [a Senate trial] is not going to be a pleasant process for the country.”

So far Sanford has only resigned as chairman of the Republican Governors Association.

In actuality his personal life is not of concern. His politics however are.

Besides being against gay marriage and gay adoption, Sanford is also pro-life and has disconcerting voting records when it comes to issues of women’s health (such as voting against Medicaid coverage for breast and cervical cancer treatments). I know, pause for the irony as none of these things even remotely affect him.

But more recently Sanford lost a high-profile battle to reject $700 million in federal stimulus funding. He challenged the Obama administration, federal courts and even his own state legislature on the issue before backing down on June 8 and requesting the funding.

When he was asked how he could reject federal money when his state’s unemployment rate was cresting 10 percent, he responded: “There will be no immediate answer. . . . Reforming state government: that can lead to job growth in the state.” That, Governor, is a weak answer. You should have more answers and alternatives before taking such a strong, ironclad stance against something that has the potential to stimulate the state’s economy and create jobs. Both particularly important considering South Carolina has the second highest unemployment rate in the U.S.

Sanford denied that his decision is tied to his political aspirations. It’s an asinine comment; aren’t most decisions politicians make in one way or another tied to their aspirations? It’s been no secret that he was gearing up for a possible 2012 Presidential bid. However, it seems unlikely now. Although it seems like his resignation is not being called for, at least not yet.

Throughout the last three months, Sanford’s criticism of the stimulus plan had transformed him from a little known conservative Republican governor to an outspoken powerhouse with a growing profile among party stalwarts nationwide. Now with this bizarre behavior he has secured a place in political infamacy.