With head bowed in shame of being caught cheating on his wife, the governor of South Carolina sang, 'Don't cry for me South Carolina'! Icheoku says, the governor should have advised himself appropriately before jetting away to snuggle in the bosom of his Evita in South America! So it turned out that the missing governor was not missing after-all; rather he was smooching his Evita in far away Argentina? Icheoku asks what is wrong with our politicians that they do not necessarily learn from the history of other similarly situated misjudgement of the past? Do they think they are somewhat different and so special that their foibles will be a different kind of experience, with no prying eyes watching or inquisitive curious mind finding out? May be they do not use their brains or their brains has been corrupted by the power of politics that the feeling of invincibility sets in to eventually bring them down from their Olympian height? How many times is really enough for these cheating politicians or is the case of the second kick of the mull which teaches no lesson, at all?
Governor Mark Sanford, 49, decided to simply vanish into the thin air, Houdini style, thinking that his wife, four boys, friends, family and other South Carolinas are too blind to notice his absence? But unbeknownst to the philandering governor, he is not just any ordinary Citizen-Joe who could even die without a smidgen of sorrow; but a governor of the State of South Carolina with responsibility for its people? Also the governor was married to a wife with who he has four young children, all boys; yet failed to understand the enormity of his responsibility to them as well, and owed to them some explanation on his where-about? As if the governor was not already in enough deep molaise, he chose the weekend of Father's day of all days, to embark on this his love-struck transcontinental journey to the land of the Argentines? Was he not aware that as a father and a husband, that his family will be there to celebrate the day with him as well as present him with some gifts for fathers day? His family called the governor's office to inquire on the where-about of their bread-winner with the office responding that they thought the governor took the day off and was spending it with his family; and thus was the cat let out of the bag and the governor was declared "missing"? Governor Mark Sanford, a former three-term congressman, was elected governor of the state of South Carolina in 2002 and is in his second cum final term as governor.
After seven days of dalliance in far away Argentina, he magically reappeared at Atlanta international airport, a passenger returning from Buenos Aires. But surprise, surprise; laying in wait at the airport for him was a journalist from the state's 'State Newspaper' who had driven three hours to the airport following a tip-off. She prodded the governor for explanation on his where-about following his disappearance from South Carolina over the father's day weekend. He rambled through a somewhat explanation at the airport; and subsequently followed it up with a press-conference; wherein he addressed his infidelity! Icheoku says, no matter what happens, lying to his staffers about hiking in the Appalachian mountain trails while in Argentina is unbecoming of a chief executive of a state! Also leaving his four boys and his wife longing for their family head on a father's day is equally unthoughtful and selfish!
That governor Sanford was indifferent to his wife's feeling is a fact. That governor Sanford took some risk, travelling overseas without security clearance is a fact. That the governor was reckless in not handing over to the next in line is a fact. That the governor was irrational in not thinking that he will be caught is a fact. That the governor disappointed his family by cheating on his wife and not being there for his four boys on father's day is also a fact. The four young boys possibly questioned their mommy if they really have a daddy? Otherwise, Icheoku says, what the governor did is no other person's business but that of his wife's primarily, and his four boys; if she and the boys chose to forgive him, so be it, case closed! Also the people of South Carolina who were deprived of their chief executive and left with no shoulder to cry on in case of an emergency have a stake in the matter. Every other person should butt out and let these parties sort out their internal affair privately, with the philandering governor/father. Should he resign his office? May be, if precedents of New Jersey is called into play; but the call is for the people of South Carolina, but none other, to make. This is because his leaving the country without formally transferring his executive power, exposed the state to an unreasonable degree of risk, were there to be an emergency?
That governor Sanford was indifferent to his wife's feeling is a fact. That governor Sanford took some risk, travelling overseas without security clearance is a fact. That the governor was reckless in not handing over to the next in line is a fact. That the governor was irrational in not thinking that he will be caught is a fact. That the governor disappointed his family by cheating on his wife and not being there for his four boys on father's day is also a fact. The four young boys possibly questioned their mommy if they really have a daddy? Otherwise, Icheoku says, what the governor did is no other person's business but that of his wife's primarily, and his four boys; if she and the boys chose to forgive him, so be it, case closed! Also the people of South Carolina who were deprived of their chief executive and left with no shoulder to cry on in case of an emergency have a stake in the matter. Every other person should butt out and let these parties sort out their internal affair privately, with the philandering governor/father. Should he resign his office? May be, if precedents of New Jersey is called into play; but the call is for the people of South Carolina, but none other, to make. This is because his leaving the country without formally transferring his executive power, exposed the state to an unreasonable degree of risk, were there to be an emergency? 
Icheoku says, crying a river now is too late, Mr. Romeo-Governor as you would have spared yourself the present agony by realising that as a public figure, your actions matter. Further, it is very selfish of the governor to just say that the affair is now over, just because he had been caught; after-all the affair began about eight years ago and he did not consult with his 'Evita' before trying now to back out of a love situation? Was it a desperate move to save his political career or what? Was it lust or love that pushed Governor Sanford into a plane to Argentina; which helps to understand the current, 'it is over now' disposition? May be he is just being the politician he is, scoundrels of the earth which most most people do not take seriously anyway! And he is of the republican brand? True to type of these arch-hypocritical Republicans, while a congressman, he had voted in favor of three of four articles of impeachment against President Bill Clinton during the Monica(gate) Lewinsky scandal, citing the need for "moral legitimacy." Icheoku asks, which 'moral legitimacy' now protects this inter-continental love-forlorn Pharisee governor of South Carolina from his international love export? None, we know of? We do not however mind people's intermittent foibles and mistakes in life, but if that person is a republican with their holier than thou attitude, then our fifth sense triggers on; hence this umbrage. At least Bill Clinton did not leave the confines of the Oval office but this governor took an international flight to far away Argentina, not minding associated risks both of accident, kidnapping, armed robbery and even death just to satisfy his amorous thirst? What if something terrible had happened and no one could trace the governor? What a humongous embarrassment it would have been for a state's governor to just disappear into the thin air without a trace?
Governor Mark Sanford threw caution to the winds and unmindful of his safety, jetted out to Buenos Aires to be with his love interest, leaving his four boys and the mother of the boys, his wife of 20 years, Jenny Sanford, alone and lonely on a father's day weekend? Icheoku asks what manner of man would live his family so stranded, just for a piece of funky Bermuda-triangle in far away Argentina? His wife is pretty, rich, tall, slender, intelligent, active and had given him four handsome healthy boys; so what else does this horny-dog want in another woman? Could it be her 'magnificent gentle kisses', 'tan lines', 'curved hips', 'the erotic beauty of holding herself or two of her boobs in the faded glow of the night's light? If Jenny was not up to par or has relaxed too much, couldn't the governor have re-oriented the mother of his four boys to reinvent herself into a sexier Sarah Palin hootchie-mama type personality; instead of cheating on her and spending the family's money to indulge himself in an overseas love-triangle? What a cheating scoundrel, this governor Romeo Mark Sanford is? 
Finally, Icheoku says, Governor Mark Sanford's rather lunatic-like action, throws light on the anguish of so many married men who are not really happy being married? What was he thinking, one would like to ask? Icheoku says, his brain is empty and incapable of formulating any thoughts! His present action shows that majority of married men feel trapped in their marriage and would rather be playing the field; otherwise how do you explain a flight of over 10,000 miles just to be with the other woman? Is it possible that many a married men want out but feel compelled by societal etiquette to remain yoked in a marriage which light has since gone out? Whatever was the underlying fuel for this love-trip, Icheoku says, if you are an exception to the rule that many married men are; and that you are so happily married that you cannot appreciate what overcame this governor, or do not feel any empathy for this governor or lacks understanding of his action, please drop us a line and let us know! But until then, Icheoku wants you to know that about 99.9% of all married men are not so happily ever after!
In emotional interviews with the AP over two days, he said he would die "knowing that I had met my soul mate."
ReplyDeleteSanford also said that he "crossed the lines" with a handful of other women during 20 years of marriage, but not as far as he did with his mistress.
"There were a handful of instances wherein I crossed the lines I shouldn't have crossed as a married man, but never crossed the ultimate line," he said.
Sanford insisted his relationship with Maria Belen Chapur, whom he met at an open air dance spot in Uruguay eight years ago, was more than just sex.
"This was a whole lot more than a simple affair, this was a love story," Sanford said. "A forbidden one, a tragic one, but a love story at the end of the day."
"I've been able to do my job and in fact excel at it," Sanford said, while acknowledging he is a spectator at his "own political funeral."
During more than three hours of interviews over two days at his Statehouse office, Sanford said he is trying to fall back in love with his wife, Jenny, even as he grapples with his deep feelings for Chapur.
"I owe it too much to my boys and to the last 20 years with Jenny to not try this larger walk of faith," he said.
However, at least 10 of 27 Republican South Carolina senators have called for Sanford to resign.
Sanford, at times crying and unabashedly emotional, acknowledged in the AP interview that he had casual encounters with other women while he was married but before he met Chapur. They took place during trips outside the country to "blow off steam" with male friends.
"What I would say is that I've never had sex with another woman. Have I done stupid? I have. You know you meet someone. You dance with them. You go to a place where you probably shouldn't have gone," Sanford said, declining to discuss details. But he said those encounters were nothing like his relationship with Chapur.
"If you're a married guy at the end of the day you shouldn't be dancing with somebody else. So anyway, without wandering into that field we'll just say that I let my guard down in all senses of the word without ever crossing the line that I crossed with this situation."
But he saw Chapur again, this time over Father's Day weekend and after his wife expressly told him not to, leaving the country without telling his staff and instead leading them to believe he was hiking the Appalachian Trail.
Sanford told the AP he saw Chapur five times over the past year, including two romantic, multi-night stays with her in New York — one in Manhattan, one in the Hamptons, both paid for in cash so no one would know — before they met in the city again with the intention of breaking up.
He said he saw her two other times before that, including their first meeting.
"There was some kind of connection from the very beginning," he said, though neither that first encounter nor a 2004 coffee date in New York during the Republican National Convention were romantic.
"Now I am frightened," he told the AP, describing his state of mind at the time. "It was before safe. But now it's not safe. We gotta put the genie back in the bottle."
"I was reached ultimately on Monday evening," he said. "I was contacted and called (chief of staff) Scott (English) back that Tuesday morning." Sanford said he then changed his flight to return to South Carolina that evening.
He and Jenny, parents of four sons, say they are trying to reconcile their marriage but have not been sharing the same house for several weeks. Jenny Sanford found out about the relationship in January when she discovered a letter the governor had written to his mistress. She did not immediately return messages seeking comment Tuesday and was not at their coastal home on Sullivans Island.