South Carolina Governor Admits to Affair

The missing seven days in the life of Governor Mark Sanford have come to light.

WASHINGTON (Catholic Online) - A walk in the woods has become an affair in Argentina. On Wednesday, Governor Mark Sanford, of South Carolina, admitted to an on-going affair and that he had flown to South America to be with the woman last week.

The Governor had been missing for seven days. His wife, his staff, the Lieutenant Governor all said they had no idea where he was. He even missed Father's Day with his family. When pressed by the media, his staff stated that he was walking the Appalachian Trail.

Sanford's car was later spotted at the Columbia, SC airport and he was cornered by a reporter from "The State," South Carolina's largest newspaper, upon his arrival. When asked about his whereabouts, the former three-term congressman said he had decided on something "more exotic" as a refresher from the stressful bout he recently had with the state legislature.

At a press conference on Wednesday, Sanford, 49, first avoided the issue with references to his fondness for hiking then finally tackled the issue. He tearfully admitted to having an affair with a long-time friend from Argentina, apologized to his wife and four sons, then announced his resignation as head of the Republican Governor's Association.

"I've let down a lot of people, that's the bottom line... I spent the last five days of my life crying in Argentina," remarked, stating the affair is now over. "What I did was wrong," he said. "Period. End of story."

He explained that the woman was a "dear, dear friend" for about eight years but that the affair did not become romantic until a year ago. Since that time he had seen her three times. He also talked openly regarding his offense against God's law, the need for moral absolutes and following one's heart.

The governor also indicated that his wife learned of the affair five months ago. His family was not in attendance at the new conference.

Governor Sanford was considered by many to be one of the front-runners for the Republican nomination for President in 2012. He had made news headlines recently for his decision to refuse funds from the stimulus package for his state schools, which he was later forced to take by a court order.

During the time when the governor was missing, state and national politicians from both parties expressed shock at his irresponsible actions. There was no indication from Sanford on Wednesday regarding his future as South Carolina's governor.

A graduate of Furman University with an MBA from the University of Virginia, Sanford was born and raised in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. His summers were spent on the family plantation in South Carolina.

After working for several financial firms in New York City, he moved back to South Carolina at the end of 1990 and entered into real estate. In 1994 he ran for Congress, where he stayed until 2000 having promised to serve for three terms.

In 2002 he defeated Democratic incumbent Governor Jim Hodges by 4 percentage points and was re-elected to a second term in 2006.

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Randy Sly is the Associate Editor of Catholic Online and President of the Catholic Media Association. He is a former Archbishop of the Charismatic Episcopal church who laid aside that ministry to enter into the full communion of the Catholic Church.

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