South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford Admits to Affair

Governor Mark Sanford, who has been in the news lately because of a seven-day leave of absence that left no one knowing exactly where he’d gone, admitted yesterday evening that he had flown to Argentina specifically to visit a woman with whom he was engaged in an affair. Sanford tearfully apologized to his family and resigned his Republican Party post, but did not answer questions about his plans regarding his post as governor. The 49-year-old Sanford, who referenced "God’s law", following one’s heart and moral absolutes during his admission, also noted simply, "I’ve been unfaithful to my wife. What I did was wrong. Period."

It has since been learned that Sanford’s wife, Jenny, asked him to leave their house two weeks ago, though Sanford has noted that he would like to fix his marriage. Responding, Jenny Sanford noted that she will give her husband another chance to prove himself and that, "This trial separation was agreed to with the goal of ultimately strengthening our marriage."

Sanford, who had told his staff that he would be alone, hiking the Appalachian trail, noted, "I let them down by creating a fiction with regard to where I was going. I said that was the original possibility. Again, this is my fault in shrouding this larger trip." Sanford has come under fire lately especially because his departure left his staff without a means to contact him in the event of an emergency and because he left the country without an formal conveyance of power to a surrogate.