Reactions to details of affair mixed

The Associated Press South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford ponders a question as he admits during an interview with The Associated Press that there were more encounters with his Argentine mistress than he previously has disclosed, in his office Tuesday in Columbia.

By ANNABELLE ROBERTSON
Item Staff Writer
arobertson@theitem.com

The revelations continue — as do the shockwaves. In an exclusive interview with the Associated Press, Gov. Mark Sanford revealed Tuesday that, in addition to having an affair with an Argentinean woman, he has also engaged in unspecified misconduct with other women.

Continuing his surprising candor with the press, Sanford also stated that he was not in love with his wife, that he has met several times with his Argentinean mistress, and that she is his "soul mate."

Legislators around the state — including several Republicans, like Sen. Kevin Bryant, R-Anderson, and Senate Majority Leader Harvey Peeler, R-Gaffney — are calling for the governor's resignation.

Close to 2,000 Item readers cast their votes in an online poll last week after Sanford's most recent announcement. More than 59 percent said that Sanford should resign.

Published reports on Wednesday also revealed that at least six South Carolina newspapers were calling for Sanford's resignation. They include The Greenville News, The Herald-Journal of Spartanburg, The Herald of Rock Hill, the Morning News of Florence and The Times and Democrat of Orangeburg. The same article incorrectly stated that the Item was also calling for Sanford's resignation.

"The AP mistakenly took a column by Graham Osteen and assumed that it was an editorial position," said Hubert Osteen, Item editor. "We chastised Sanford in our Sunday editorial, but we have not yet called for his resignation."

Tri-county legislators are taking a similar position. Here's what they had to say Wednesday:

Sen. Phil Leventis, D-Sumter
It's a deep personal tragedy for the state. It has cast a terrible pall over our state, because the governor seems to have some personal, very unusual compulsion to talk about things that definitely should not be discussed in public. I don't know why it's important for the public to know what he is saying. If he truly wants to work on his family situation, then he ought to hush and go talk to his family, not reporters. He has become the butt of jokes around the nation. I worry a great deal about his emotional state. It has got to be very fragile. Where do we go from here? I wish I could say that if he resigns, we would all be better off, but I'm not sure right now. What we need is to focus on jobs and the terrible economy and state and federal budget crisis. Instead, all we're talking about is his personal, very bad indiscretions. I just don't know what would be the best right now. I don't want to be holier than thou and say that we'd all be better to throw him in a ditch, but what he continues to do to his family alarms me.

Sen. John Land, D-Manning
Even before all of this, I thought that Mark Sanford was the most ineffective governor that I have ever served under in 35 years. In his six years, he has accomplished absolutely nothing and more so has frustrated so many good things that the General Assembly was trying to do. He accomplished none of his objectives, he has frustrated the budget process and rendered himself totally ineffective. As far as I'm concerned, he is out of touch with the people I represent. These things that have come out up until this point certainly question his intentions and bring into question his ability to lead, which he has not demonstrated in the past. The question that comes to my mind is, why would he want to continue serving when, by his own admission, he has not accomplished what he set out to accomplish? It would seem to me that he would want to devote all of his time to putting his family back together. The next 18 months will be totally wasted under his leadership — or lack of leadership. So the question is, why in the world would he want to try and continue to be our governor and embarrass us just about daily now? He seems now to be mentally fragile in my opinion. You need only look at the last two press conferences. He certainly did not seem like a man who was in control of himself and his feelings. He doesn't seem like a man who is ready to work to lower the unemployment rate, increase jobs and increase economic activity in this state. He just does not look like a man who can do that. Of course, that's for him to decide, not me, although I don't know why he wouldn't decide to (resign).

Sen. Gerald Malloy, D-Hartsville
I don't think that's the issue of what I think. The issue of resignation rests solely with the governor. I'm really tired of talking about it. The issue rests upon his shoulders as to the decisions that he makes within his own volition. He is the sole captain of that ship. If a determination has been made by us, then we'll do that at the appropriate time. But the main issue for me is whether he inappropriately spent taxpayer dollars and whether or not he is derelict in his responsibilities as it relates to the citizens of this state.

Rep. Murrell Smith, R-Sumter
I'm not prepared right now to say he should resign. I will withhold judgment until we see what these investigations turn up. The one concern I have is his behavior, which is best described as bizarre right now. He needs to get down to the business of governing and stop using the governor's office to perform psychotherapy with reporters. It's been too much information provided by the governor and he needs to get back to business and forget waxing about his soul mate. It's embarrassing for the state, it's embarrassing for his family, and he just needs to cease and desist from this type of behavior. He is beginning to lose his ability to lead this state. He needs to take a sabbatical.

Rep. Phillip Lowe, R-Florence
I still believe that even though he has betrayed the public trust, there is nothing still that is apparent that should force us to ask him to resign over. I think it's going to take expenditures of public money that betray the trust of me to call for his resignation. I'm sure his mind is elsewhere, and it will probably take a couple of months to recover from this emotionally. If he chooses to stay in the seat, he can begin leading again. He has a year-round job, but it's more difficult during the time when the General Assembly is in session, and we won't be back in until January. That gives him time to get over the majority of this, from an emotional standpoint. The legislature has not been working with him over the past year anyway, and I don't think that will change a whole lot. They have ignored what the governor has wanted. All governors during their last years are somewhat of a lame duck, but he's become that earlier because of several of the leading politicians, who no longer choose to work with him. So it's probably less important that he is a strong governor. He's not going to get anything he wanted before or after this affair. He doesn't have enough allies to push any legislation through. They're done with him, regardless of his affair. Where we need the governor is job recruitment and industry. That's what I worry the most about.

Rep. Cathy Harvin, D-Summerton
Let me say this as diplomatically as I can. I think that it is apparent by the interview with the Associated Press that the governor is distracted from his duties as the chief executive office of the state of South Carolina. If we find through the audit that Henry McMaster will perform that, in addition to being distracted from his duties, as is evidenced by the fact that he asked an AP reporter to come and be with him, that it is time for the process to begin that will assess whether or not this leader is still in a position to serve the citizens of South Carolina as they deserve to be served. I am very sorry that we have a CEO, as I like to look at it — because we can't forget that this is about doing the business of the state — who, if he were to represent us in an economic development opportunity, will he have the credibility that he would have had? We have gone from having a governor who was the president of the national Governor's Association to a governor who is the topic of late-night conversation on late-night TV. For an individual who has confessed to knowing that they have performed inappropriate behavior, it is typical that that individual will provide the abridged version of the story. Someone who isn't close to an emotional breakdown wouldn't want — or believe it was appropriate — to provide the finer points. It's also hurtful to his extended family.

Rep. David Weeks, D-Sumter
I think that the second set of revelations, which change the story from the first time around, indicate that the governor has developed a serious credibility problem. I think he should probably step down so that he can devote his attention to strengthening and redeveloping relationships in his family. I think he will probably work his way through this process in the next couple of days, and I will be very surprised if he doesn't resign. His behavior has been erratic, and legislators have to look at whether he can divorce the personal impact of this thing from the impact on the state, including abandoning the state for a very long time. Several days is a very long time from a governmental standpoint. If, in fact, public funds were used — an area that he has been very adamant about — that alone is sufficient reason for him to step down. I would hope that we would not have to deal with the issue of impeachment and that governor would go ahead and step down.

Rep. Grady Brown, D-Bishopville
If the governor wants to resign, he can resign. I'm not going to call for his resignation. The governor knows what he has been advocating from a leadership position for a long, long time. It's my belief that his personal life is his personal life. I'm not condoning it, but my real problem with him is the way he has acted as governor. When he was elected, he was elected governor 24/7, 365. When he left South Carolina for a week, that left a lot to be desired. I think most probably South Carolina would be better off long-term if we had some new direction before the next governor's race. I do. But that's his call to make.