Mark Sanford: I’m Already Sick of This

The governor of a small but noisy state disappeared from his job and family for a few days. Turns out he popped off to Buenos Aires to cry between his mistresses boobs. It’s an interesting spin on what’s become an all too common story, especially for some reason among Republicans (though Democrats are surely not immune, right Gov. Spitzer?).

My funny bone gets a kick out of bible spouting moralists falling on the stick upon which they had hoisted their petard. And from a partisan politics perspective I am loving how the GOP is publicly destroying itself before our very eyes after having eight years of near total dominance of American government. But in times like these, I end up regressing back to my opinion when Bill Clinton’s shenanigans ended with a cigar trick in the Oval Office.

Beyond the disappearance while on public duty, and possibly using taxpayer funds to do the disappearing in this case, the act of infidelity is absolutely none of our business. It is a family tragedy that all too many of us have felt either ourselves or through the pain of someone we care about. Forgiveness is not ours to be asked for or given. Humans screw up, literally and figuratively, in all sorts of ways. It generally doesn’t mean they can’t do their jobs and do them well — even in public life. It would be nice if more on the right of the political spectrum would recognize that so they could espouse a policy which they could defend instead of a morality which they cannot represent themselves.

I don’t believe morality has much place in politics. It’s a dirty business. Morality is the precinct of the clergy who have followers or of the individuals who follow themselves. Society should dictate to the politicians and the politicians should find a way to balance leading and following. Matters of the flesh among adults do not belong in our public discourse and beyond force or violence should not be legislatively controlled.

We have bigger things going on in the world which need political attention. Ongoing economic issues (not the moral aspects of them though); healthcare and environmental degradation; lunatics from North Korea possibly transporting nuclear technology across the globe just to thumb their noses at the world; people getting hacked apart in the name of democracy in Iran; and so many other matters more important than a strange man from a strange state with a strange history doing strange things with a strange woman from a country with nothing in common with Appalachia other than first and last letters. We have business to take care of which matters. What Mark Sanford does with his pants is none of our business.