Thursday, Jun. 25, 2009

Sanford has much to do to make amends for deceit

SOUTH CAROLINIANS waiting to hear Gov. Mark Sanford explain his five-day disappearance got an unexpected, saddening shock.

The governor’s revelation that he had been unfaithful to his wife, Jenny, and had spent the past several days in Argentina with another woman instead of hiking on the Appalachian Trail — as he had told staff and as staff had told this state’s media and its people — felt like a punch to the gut.

For some, at least for a moment, the news sucked the air out of concerns about the governor leaving the state without anyone knowing where he was or how to get in touch with him. For others, while they noted the unfortunate circumstances, this did little to soften their heated rhetoric over the governor’s disappearing act.

Our collective heart goes out to the governor, Mrs. Sanford and their boys as they endure this most difficult time. They deserve the opportunity to work through this situation outside the public spotlight.

But as much as they deserve to be able to deal with their personal issues in private, Mark Sanford, as governor, has to answer for his actions as the state’s elected chief executive. Yes, he deserves a private life, but those who choose to serve in elected office are held to a higher standard, and even their personal matters are thrust into the public square, particularly when they affect public policy or governance.

In an attempt to conceal this private matter, Mr. Sanford deliberately and willfully deceived the people of South Carolina. He eluded the state’s top law enforcement agency and lied to staff about his whereabouts. And he abandoned his duties and exposed this state in a way no elected chief executive should. By making himself unreachable and refusing to take the simple step of turning his authority temporarily over to the lieutenant governor while he was out of the country, he left more than 4 million South Carolinians unprotected in the event of an emergency that only he had the constitutional authority to respond to, particularly one that would call for the assistance of the National Guard. That is inexcusable.

The governor has decided to resign as head of the Republican Governor’s Association because of the problems, and we believe that is appropriate. There are those in our state who understandably question whether he will be able to continue as our state’s chief executive, and believe he should resign as governor as well. We are not ready to join them at this point.

This story is still unraveling, and we do not know what else might be turned up. Moreover, Mr. Sanford’s own actions in the coming days and weeks will play a huge role in determining whether he is fit to continue as governor.

The governor apologized and asked for forgiveness from not only his wife and family, but all South Carolinians. As genuine as his plea might be, that alone — even forgiveness alone — is not enough. Mr. Sanford has a great deal of redemptive work ahead to win back even a minimal amount of trust.

By his deceit, he has raised the bar. He will be subject to a much higher level of scrutiny for his public and private actions and statements. Accepting that must be part of the reconciliation process that he himself acknowledged will be long and difficult.

But it does not have to be impossible. Indeed, it is within Mr. Sanford’s power to not only make amends to our state but reverse what seemed destined to be one of the lamest of lame-duck periods in our state’s history.

Legislators certainly share part of the blame for the disintegrated relationship between the executive and legislative branches of our government. But their complaints that Mr. Sanford refuses to work with them and uses them as his whipping boy are legitimate as well. If the governor is sincere in his contrition, we hope that compels him to make amends with legislators. If his humility is genuine, then he has the chance to become an effective governor — something South Carolina has long needed him to be.

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