Not a Good Day for Political Heroes

South Carolina Governor, Marshall "Marc" Sanford, explained his mysterious absence last week by admitting he had been having an affair with an 8 year friend in Argentina. Marc Sanford had been my pick in the Republican field in 2012. He had endeared himself to fiscal conservatives by refusing federal stimulus money in the name of responsible economic stewardship. Other governors, such as the colossally incompetent Jennifer Granholm (D-MI) and the action movie star-turned-human toothbrush Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-CA), were too busy making a racket by rattling their tin cups in front of the Treasury so that they could paper-over their fiscal malfeasance---kind of like applying a band-aid to a gunshot wound.

Brendan Miniter of the Wall Street Journal briefly describes some highlights of his tenure:

Until yesterday, Mr. Sanford was head of the Republican Governor's Association -- a spot usually given to top GOP prospects to help build a national network of allies. Grassroots Republicans across the country were quietly forming ranks into a Sanford volunteer army. Conservatives were attracted by his unflinching fight against wasteful government spending. As governor, he once hauled two squealing piglets into the state house to protest a pork-barrel culture. His recent campaign to reject Obama stimulus dollars irritated every elected official in South Carolina. In Congress, he voted against creating a breast cancer awareness stamp because there was no money to fund it. He was warned at the time he was destroying his political future.

Mr. Sanford nursed his growing reputation by opening his doors to any conservative journalist passing through Columbia, S.C. The first time I spoke with him on the phone, he invited me for lunch. He never hesitated to criticize the excesses of his own party, saying Republicans had lost self-control as well as their principles in free-spending Washington. Republicans have to "walk the walk, and not just talk the talk," he said.

Obviously the "sex scandal" is the portion of the story that editors are going to splash across the front pages. Sex sells, and will always sell. And I suspect some well-meaning citizens, probably those who are clustered around the middle of political spectrum, wonder why the body politic and commentariat concern themselves with the personal lives of other citizens. Others cannot seem to divorce a politician's personal foibles with his or her political fitness. This fissure widened during the Clinton presidency, where Americans struggled to come to terms with sickeningly flawed man who governed skillfully.

But I believe these scandals are important for other reasons, not simply because of the harm they inflict on spouses and children. A few points:

• In the case of Governor Sanford, there was complete abandonment of his office and his reckless abdication of his duties as chief executive of the South Carolina government. His staff has no idea where he was, nor did state congressional leaders. Evidently the police chief tried to contact him a few times while he was A.W.O.L. Usually if the governor leaves the state for any reason, he or she has to transfer his or her constitutional authority to the second in command (usually a lieutenant governor or congressional leader). Mr. Sanford neglected to do this, as did former New York State Governor Eliot Spitzer. What would have happened if there was an emergency in South Carolina? A hurricane? A landslide? An earthquake or flood? Who will command the National Guard and state police? This shear negligence on Mr. Sanford's part

• Engaging in sordid behavior while serving elected office leaves the elected office subject to blackmail and other forms of manipulation. We learned after the discovery of Senator John Ensign's affair that the woman with whom Senator Ensign was straying had tried to extort him. Politicians are supposed to serve the public at-large, not individual interests. We have a hard enough time persuading the political classes to ignore special interests and campaign contributors.

• Many offenders are using campaign funds or state resources, e.g. planes, security details, taxpayer dollars, etc., to carry out their nefarious behavior. Hopefully, I don't have to go into much detail on why this is wrong.

• It's not so much the affair, but they way they do it and their belief that they will not get caught. Sean Trende of RCP blog weighs in here:

To me that's the most amazing thing about this -- not so much that Eliot Spitzer paid a prostitute, but that he thought that as Governor he had a decent chance of not ever getting caught (because if there's any group of Americans known for their honesty and discretion, its prostitutes). Heck, three of the people on the list above were prospective Presidential candidates -- John Edwards was apparently carrying on during a Presidential campaign. John Ensign was gearing up for one. And again (sorry if I keep repeating this, but it blows my mind) Sanford disappeared for a weekend to Argentina to have an affair, while he was in the semi-Presidential spotlight. And he thought that he might get away with it. And of course there's an actual President who thought that a 21-year-old, star-struck intern would keep her mouth shut.
If one has any faith in the rationality of man, one has to think that the higher degree of scrutiny politicians are subjected to would deter such behavior. I guess there's an offsetting "rock star" quotient that might give more opportunities for affairs than the average person. But again, most of these aren't just average, everyday affairs of the Jim Bunn or Tim Hutchinson variety. They're stunning displays of hubris and stupidity.
So I find it really, really disturbing that so many people who are in charge of so many important things -- potentially even with a finger on a nuclear trigger -- display such amazingly poor judgment so frequently. On the other hand, I guess it also explains a lot.


So Marc Sanford's promising political future is gone. He has himself to blame. He has made a complete mockery of the lives that his wife Jenny and his four boys were living.

Mr. Sanford: I have been touting you for the last four years as presidential timber. You let me down, and Americans really needed you (as a candidate, at least). Please finish out your term and leave us the hell alone.