Yes, I agree it opens the man up to blackmail. This didn’t deter Bill Clinton, but he was a lame duck anyhow by the time the Monica stories got out. Maybe the blackmail angle is why there has been such strenuous effort by both Sanfords to air the story in the media. The idea being that if they air it all now, more details cannot be threatened to embarrass either of them in the future.
Blackmail in the media was certainly on the horizon, probably his next run. The editor that had his emails stated that they new about the affair last December. They were just waiting for the most oppurtune time to release the emails and destroy Sanford.