Today's Big Story- Mark Sanford

This story is just too weird to not write about, and the more I write, the more I research, and the more I research, the more I write. Here goes.

MARK SANFORD. Ok, so I was just about to start writing a few brief thoughts on this story, and I did a quick Google News search just to double check my facts on this story, and low and behold, it’s gotten even weirder. Sanford, the governor of South Carolina and one of the top names mentioned when discussing GOP 2012 presidential contenders, went missing- like, totally gone- last Thursday, June 18. It didn’t really make news for a few days, but when Father’s Day weekend came and went with no sign of him, a few news outlets began to take notice. Sanford finally made contact with the media yesterday evening, and it was first reported that he had been hiking- alone- on the Appalachian Trail. Reports said that he needed time to clear his head and do some writing. Well, now the story has completely changed- we then heard this morning that he was found at the Atlanta International Airport (some 220 miles from the capitol in Columbia, S.C.), after returning from a trip to Buenos Aires (which is nearly 5,000 miles from Columbia, if you draw a straight line connecting the points). And just a short while ago, at 2pm, he announced that he has been having an affair with an Argentinean woman for the past year, and that his wife has known about it for the past five months.

I find this story extremely curious. First of all, how does a state governor, a husband and a father of four sons not tell ANYbody, including his wife (who claims she didn’t know where he was) that he was going to be gone for six days, over Fathers Day? Even if he was actually having an affair, wouldn’t you at least say SOMEthing, to cover for yourself, rather than just disappear?

Second, Sanford claims that the decision to go to Buinos Aires was “last minute.” But that would mean that he also bought airline tickets last minute. Orbitz shows that a next-day, one-way, non-stop ticket to Buenos Aires is nearly $1,600 on Delta. Pretty pricey. Now, I don’t have any facts or links to back this up, but I’ve heard that when tickets are bought at the last minute, you are far more likely to be selected for random security searches. If this is so, how did he escape notice? Now it’s possible that he was not chosen for a security search, but either way, shouldn’t someone- airport security, airport or airline employee, or a random traveler- have noticed the governor of South Carolina was in the area? If he took a public flight, he would have had to go through the normal screening process, especially if he was alone. And he definitely would have had to be alone, because remember, NOBODY knew where he was for almost a full week. Not his wife, not his sons, not his security guards, not the legislature, not the media- nobody. What gives?

Third, how does a state governor- and a rather well-known one at that- carry on an alleged affair for a whole year with a woman 5,000 miles away? I would say it is darn near impossible that Sanford could have done this, unless she was in the country for every single one of their supposed meetings save for this most recent. We’ll have to see if her name comes up in the following hours and days here. If not, I will remain in some doubt towards the story that this is all true.

There are other loose ends to this story including:
-A report that he and his wife had been going through marriage counseling prior to this.
-An abandoned black Suburban turning up at the Columbia, S.C. airport that matches a description of the one Sanford was last seen in before his disappearance. Keep in mind that Sanford turned up in Atlanta, which means that he would have had to take a flight (or catch a ride with someone who isn’t talking yet) from Columbia to Atlanta. While it is hard to believe that he would not have been recognized in the Atlanta airport, it is nearly unfathomable that there were zero reported sightings of him in the airport of the capitol city of his own state.

The final word from me: While this may very well all play out and be uncovered to be the true story, I am not 100% convinced that Mark Sanford has been in an extra-marital affair. There are too many factors that do not yet add up.

Another interesting link, showing the timeline of this story.