FOXNews.com
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford has just returned from a week-long trip to Argentina, The State newspaper reports, even though his staff claimed the disappearing governor was hiking on the Appalachian Trail a few hours away from the state capital.
Sanford's unknown whereabouts had fueled speculation in South Carolina since he left town Thursday. Even his lieutenant governor was unable to figure out where Sanford had wandered off to.
An explanation came Monday from the governor's staff -- he was hiking the Appalachian Trail to "clear his head," a spokesman said. Spokesman Joel Sawyer released a second statement Tuesday saying Sanford called his chief of staff to "check in" and would be returning home early due to the hubbub surrounding his absence.
As it turns out, Sanford was nowhere near the Appalachian Trail. He was in Buenos Aires, Argentina, thousands of miles away in South America.
"I wanted to do something exotic," Sanford told The State. "It's a great city."
It appears there was a sliver of truth to Sawyer's explanation. Sanford said he had considered hiking the Appalachian Trail, and told his staff he might do so, before bailing for South America.
But he said he didn't know why his staff provided that explanation to the media and that he couldn't figure out why his disappearance drew so much attention.
South Carolina critics were steamed that Sanford would leave without telling key people, like Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer. He also apparently was unreachable by phone, raising questions about who would have been in charge if an executive's decision were needed.
The state constitution says the lieutenant governor can make such decisions in the case of an emergency.
But Carol Fowler, South Carolina Democratic Party chairwoman, said that since the constitution does not define emergency, a tornado or prison problem or some other issue could have triggered a "constitutional crisis" about who wields authority in his absence.
"The governor just abandoned his job," she told FOXNews.com Tuesday, when the governor was still thought to have been hiking.
Sanford said he set off for South America to clear his head after a difficult legislative session.
Holding important political office means one cannot still act the frat boy.
Sanford has just destroyed any hope of advancing his political career.