6/25: Off The Mark

Conservative bloggers were divided in their reactions to SC Gov. Mark Sanford's (R) admission that he's been having an extramarital affair with an Argentine woman for the past year. Many righty bloggers were disappointed to see Sanford inflict so much damage on his presidential aspirations, since he has long been one of their favorite politicians. Philip Klein wrote: "Today, conservatives everywhere should be mourning, because we lost the man who was in the best position to run for president in 2012 articulating limited-government philosophy." However, other conservative bloggers reacted to Sanford's announcement with disgust rather than disappointment. Michelle Malkin called Sanford a "bastard" while numerous other bloggers urged him to resign immediately.

As for the implications for the 2012 GOP presidential primary, some think that ex-MA Gov. Mitt Romney may now be the favorite. However, MN Gov. Tim Pawlenty and AK Gov. Sarah Palin still have their believers.

SANFORD: He Coulda Been A Contender!

Many righy bloggers were disappointed to see Sanford inflict so much damage on his presidential aspirations, since he was one of the conservative blogosphere's favorite politicians:

• AmSpec Blog's Klein: "Today, conservatives everywhere should be mourning, because we lost the man who was in the best position to run for president in 2012 articulating limited-government philosophy."
• RedState's Streiff: "This is a crying shame. Governor Sanford had much to offer to his country, especially at a time when the federal government seems to have lost its wits in regards to fiscal sanity. It is also a shame because it means we may have to endure yet another Mitt Romney candidacy as fiscal conservatives look for a home on 2012. On the positive side, it is better we find this out now than a year or two from now."
• Right Wing News' John Hawkins: "Sanford was a rising star in the Republican party and it is really sad to see him throw away his promising political career this way."
• Townhall's Jillian Bandes: "I sat next to Sanford at a breakfast less than a month ago, where he wowed me and a group of journos about fighting President Obama's stimulus money. This is the guy who brought to hogs into the state legislature to fight overspending and congressional pork. The guy who was supposed to be the rising star of the Republican Party. He is now a nobody."

NRO's Rich Lowry speculates about the implications for '12: "First [NV Sen. John] Ensign, then the 'Crying in Argentina' press conference. If Republicans want a presidential candidate who lives clean and whose family hasn't been involved in tabloid scandals, it might soon be Mitt Romney by process of elimination."

Power Line's John Hinderaker responds to Lowry's post: "I'm pretty certain Tim Pawlenty isn't going to succumb to scandal either, and Sarah Palin's supporters would add her to the list of those unlikely to have a nasty skeleton in the closet, notwithstanding one family member's history in the tabloids."

Speaking of Palin, Hawkins considers her the favorite to win the GOP presidential nod in '12: "Rabid Sarah Palin fans are a dime a dozen, but rabid Mitt Romney fans? They exist, but they're much fewer and farther inbetween. What this adds up to is that Sarah Palin is in a very strong position for 2012 and would, at least for the moment, still have to be considered the candidate to beat for the Republican nomination."

Hot Air's Allahpundit thinks Romney would be a stronger candidate than Palin: "Pew's got a new poll out today showing Romney's net favorable rating at +12, compared to just +1 for Sarahcuda. With Sanford and [UT Gov. Jon] Huntsman now out of the game, [LA Gov. Bobby] Jindal almost certainly biding his time until 2016, and Palin possibly too polarizing to win against The One, we'd all better hope Mitt runs. Because if he doesn't, an ominous scenario presents itself."

SANFORD II: Resign, Governor

Other conservative bloggers reacted to Sanford's announcement with disgust rather than disappointment:

• Malkin: "Bastard. It's the only fitting word for a man who abandons his wife and four sons on Father's Day weekend to indulge his 'overdrive' on an Argentinian fling. Mark Sanford: Bastard. [...] If you can't honor your marriage vows, how can you expect voters to trust you to honor your damned oath of office?"
• RedState's Leon H. Wolf: "Mark Sanford, you have betrayed your family, your friends, your constituents, your supporters, and God, all for basically nothing. You have proven to be the slimiest member of a barrel that is filled with some pretty slimy characters. If you have a decent bone left in your body, resign immediately and hopefully we can soon permanently move past news cycles featuring either your face or your name. Goodbye and good riddance."
• Townhall's Dwayne Horner: "It's not time for press conferences right now, Mr. Governor, it's a time to resign as Governor. [...] It doesn't have to be a big show, just go."
• AmSpec Blog's Doug Bandow: "A politician can survive betraying his family. But betray enough people, including the entire state's population, and you become a figure of ridicule, unable to perform your duties. How can he regain the credibility necessary to do his job? He's outta' there. The only question is when. And if he has any decency left, he will resign now."
• Hot Air's Ed Morrissey: "If you want to have a career in national politics, keep it in your pants. If you want to conduct affairs, stay out of politics. If you use your public office to lie to your constituents and your family, you deserve everything coming your way. No sniveling."

The Next Right's Patrick Ruffini pushes back against the argument that Sanford should resign: "I'd like to play Devil's Advocate and argue that blindly going along with the Dump Sanford crowd could seriously damage Republican elected officials' ability to weather future, hopefully less serious storms. At the core of the Sanford and Ensign episodes is the cloud of 'hypocrisy' that hangs over any Republican who strays from the bonds of their marriage. (Quickly forgetting that all who commit adultery are hypocrites, having taken a solemn vow of marriage.) Because Democrats are perceived as more socially libertine, they get off easier. This is a structural disadvantage that, on the margins, hurts Republican officeholders, forcing them into resignation or disgrace more easily than their equally adulterous Democratic counterparts."

SANFORD III: It's Not The Adultery, It's The Hypocrisy

Liberal bloggers were more critical of Sanford's hypocrisy than they were of his adulterous behavior:

• Firedoglake's watertiger: "I have said time and again that it's not the sin, it's the hypocrisy. People who shout the loudest about family values rarely have any to begin with. If these 'family values' politicians didn't hoist themselves upon pedestals, holding themselves out to be purer than driven snow and above 'sin' (a/k/a human behavior, to you and me), then their falls wouldn't be quite so spectacular."
• Obsidian Wings' hilzoy: "Mark Sanford: secure enough in himself to to leave his state without a governor, his wife without a husband, and his sons without a father; enough of a real man to willfully torpedo his closest relationships. Family values in action."
• Atrios: "In a sane country it would be none of my business who Sanford was was having an affair with, and in a sane country gay people would be allowed to get married no matter what people like Sanford think about it."
• Think Progress' Matthew Yglesias: "[M]arital infidelity is a bad thing but it's also fairly common and honestly not the greatest crime in human history. Sanford's stimulus antics were, in my opinion, a lot worse. Still, the sheer hypocrisy of conservative 'family values' talk always does rankle."
• TAPPED's Adam Serwer: "Marital problems shouldn't be political fodder -- unless the unfaithful individual has sought to make political hay of other people's private affairs. Personally, I don't care that Sanford was unfaithful to his wife -- that's none of my business. What I don't understand is why he thinks other people's relationships -- particularly those of gay people -- are his business."
• AMERICAblog's Joe Sudbay: "So, another rabidly homophobic, sanctimonious right-winger is a fraud. What a surprise."

Other lefty bloggers think Sanford's biggest crime was not adultery, but spending a week in Argentina without leaving someone in charge of SC:

• dday: "[L]eaving the country with no proper explanation is a severe dereliction of duty. He apparently lied to his own staff, lied to the Lieutenant Governor, and left his state in the lurch, despite the unpredictability of events (aren't we in hurricane season?). That's probably a firing offense. If I was a South Carolinian, it would be to me, regardless of party."
• BooMan: "Mark Sanford is a hypocrite and an adulterer, but those are not reasons for him to resign or be impeached. However, flaking out and leaving the country without providing for a succession of government is an impeachable offense."
• MyDD's Charles Lemos: "By leaving the state, the Governor abrogated his constitutional duties. [...] Had an unforeseen act of god or act of terrorism befallen the citizens of South Carolina, the Governor's absence would have impeded a timely and effective response. In short, the Governor has breached his duty and must step down or be impeached."

All of that said, some liberal bloggers (Marshall, Cole, Kleiman) were impressed by the honesty that Sanford displayed during his press conference.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY: Evaluating Sanford

NRO's Jim Geraghty:

"A thought for the happily married out there: What if you hadn't met the love of your life when you did? What if your life had taken a different path, and you married someone else, and then, later in life, met the person who is now the spouse you adore? Would you have the strength to say, 'I've made my commitment, I can't leave my spouse'? Would you cheat? Would you contemplate divorce?

This clearly wasn't some dirty old man chasing the secretary around the desk. A guy who writes kinda syrupy e-mails to a woman on the other side of the world, only meeting three times in eight years, at the very least is convinced that he's in love. Of course, this may very well be even more hurtful to the wronged spouse than the usual Clintonian bimbo eruption. But the jokes that Sanford can't control his you-know-what don't quite seem accurate; from the little we know about this relationship, it seems Sanford really can't control his heart. Perhaps that's what made his behavior so much more reckless than the usual philandering politician.

But... Sanford has four sons, and I figure that's the key factor here. When you're a parent, you've got to put them first. There's always an element of tragedy when a marriage ends, but the sum total of human experience suggests that sometimes the wrong people marry each other. Maybe Mark Sanford needed the love that only 'Maria' could provide him, but his sons needed a stable home even more."

LEST WE FORGET: More Appropriate Wi-Fi Network Names For My Fellow Apartment Building Tenants

McSweeney's contributor Josh Silverstein makes a list:

• Default_on rent most months
• Belkin_N1_guywhostealsmypaper
• Apt102hasextremelyloudsex
• Sam&Dave_aretrulyterribleatRockBand
• Kat&StevesWI-FIghtintheaptwhenwecanfightinthecourtyardandeveryonecanhear!
• Thomas818HogsTheWashingMachines
• WESTELLCreepyOldGuy_wholiveswithateenagegirlthatweallhopeandprayis_hisniece