Has anyone seen my governor? (His Argentinian mistress has)

[Easy Mac]

FOUND HIM

I mean, he's really been missing for 7 years, but still:

Sanford, missing since Thursday, reportedly located
The whereabouts of Gov. Mark Sanford was unknown for nearly four days, and some state leaders question who was in charge of the executive office.
But Sanford’s office told the lieutenant governor’s office Monday afternoon that Sanford has been reached and he is fine, said Frank Adams, head of Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer’s office on aging.
Neither the governor’s office nor the State Law Enforcement Division, which provides security for governors, had been able to reach Sanford after he left the mansion Thursday in a black SLED Suburban SUV, said Sen. Jake Knotts and three others familiar with the situation but declined to be identified.
Sanford’s last known whereabouts had been near Atlanta because a mobile telephone tower picked up a signal from his phone, authorities said. His office now knows where he is, Adams said.
First lady Jenny Sanford told The Associated Press earlier Monday her husband has been gone for several days and she did not know where.
She said she was not concerned.
The governor’s state and personal phones had been turned off and he had not responded to phone or text messages since at least the weekend, a source familiar with the situation said.
Most mobile phones cannot be tracked if they are turned off.
Jenny Sanford said the governor said he needed time away from their children to write something.
The governor’s office issued a statement Monday afternoon: "Gov. Sanford is taking some time away from the office this week to recharge after the stimulus battle and the legislative session, and to work on a couple of projects that have fallen by the wayside. We are not going to discuss the specifics of his travel arrangements or his security arrangements."
One official familiar with the situation said there was no indication that foul play might have been involved because Sanford occasionally makes trips without his security detail.
Knotts, a longtime Sanford critic, said he contacted SLED Chief Reggie Lloyd Saturday after he heard reports the governor could not be reached.
"Chief Lloyd confirmed that my information is legitimate," Knotts said. "He shared my concerns" about succession of power in Sanford’s absence, the Lexington Republican said. Lloyd could not be reached immediately on Monday.
"I was recently made aware that Governor Sanford has frequently been eluding SLED agents and disappearing at odd times," Knotts said. Previously, Sanford has not been out of all contact - including with his own office - for this long before, a source, who insisted on anonymity, said.
Knotts said the state’s chief executive should never be unreachable.
"As the head of our state, in the unfortunate event of a state of emergency or homeland security situation, Governor Sanford should be available at all times to the Chief of SLED," the senator said.
"If for any reason, including the unknown whereabouts of the Governor, he is unable to perform the duties of his office the Constitution provides that the lieutenant governor assumes the position of governor.
"I want to know immediately who is running the executive branch in the governor’s absence," Knotts said.
The question of succession came just after Sanford became governor in 2003.
He joined the Air Force Reserve and was sent to Alabama for two week’s training with his unit, the 315th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron based in Charleston. Sanford did not transfer power to Bauer at the time, saying he would be in regular contact with his office.
Sanford said then he would transfer authority in writing to the lieutenant governor only if he were called to active duty.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
Reach Clif LeBlanc at [email protected] and John O'Connor at [email protected]

I'm glad he needed time away from his kids on father's day

[miked]

Maybe he went to the corridor of shame to tell them personally he sees no need to accept money for their schools, everything in SC is fine.

[RomaGoth]

Sounds like a real douche. His wife didn't seem concerned either. Interesting.

[Comey]

That's because Jose the Gardener was plowing her.

[DaddyTorgo]

i'm sure he's either in the hospital for secret surgery or holed up with a hooker

[Logan]

Maybe he was banging a dude on a closed beach and he ended up breaking his leg during the trip.

Oh wait, that was my state's governor.

[Thomkal]

Well as a resident of south carolina, I'm thinking he's probably holed up writing a book on how to lose re-election in one easy step.

[Big Fo]

As a South Carolina resident I wouldn't mind if nobody ever found him.

[cubboyroy1826]

Maybe he was hanging out with my former Gov Blago.

[Autumn]

Maybe this is Armageddon and they're going to slowly sneak all the governors to the secret bunker so as to not cause a panic.

[SteveMax58]

Probably just working on new campaign shirts. Nothing to worry about really.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Seems like folks can breath easy on this little ado about virtually nothing.
Sanford, missing since Thursday, reportedly located - Local / Metro - The State

But Sanford’s office told the lieutenant governor’s office Monday afternoon that Sanford has been reached and he is fine, said Frank Adams, head of Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer’s office on aging.

[flere-imsaho]

Well, there go his presidential ambitions.

[Easy Mac]

I don't particularly buy his "Appalachian Trail" excuse. I also like how this isn't his first time eluding his security detail.

[DaddyTorgo]

yeah. didn't his wife say he was holed up working on his book away from the kids?

they need to get their stories straight.

father's day also seems like a very strange time to pick for that. so much for the "family values" part of your plank.

[flere-imsaho]

This story is fascinating, given that the amount of ambiguity in the various statements and information means any sort of speculation is possibly true.

Given what we've read, Sanford could have been doing anything from:

With his wife's blessing/encouragement, after a draining session with the legislature, took a few days off to spend hiking and gathering some thoughts for his book. While his wife didn't know exactly where he was, she knew generally where he was, but didn't want to give the press that info. As for the security services and him eluding them, well, it's not like he's POTUS or something. And he has a 3rd cellphone/pager that no one knows about except for his wife so she could reach him in dire emergencies.

to:

Telling his wife he was tired and wanted some time alone, especially from his kids, all of whom are older, more sullen, and less fun now, Sanford went AWOL without thinking up a decent cover story to shack up with another woman/man/small penguin somewhere in Atlanta. His wife figures this comes with the territory and doesn't give a shit as long as he's out of her hair and his kids are used to having an absent father anyway. Oh, and the security services are dumber than rocks.

Good times.

[DaddyTorgo]

eh - but if he's the governor of the state then he is responsible (in a macro-sense) for the people of that state, and part of the responsibility that comes with that job is being available in case there are emergencies (major or minor). That means you have to stay in contact. You don't get to take time off and dissapear.

What if there was something that didn't qualify as an "emergency" that needed his immediate attention and couldn't wait several days? What if 3 more spotted woodpeckers died because he didn't sign the environmental act (hypothetical and also ridiculous because i'm sure he's pro-woodpecker genocide)? He's responsible for that. He doesn't get to choose to take vacations spur-of-the-moment and go "off-the-grid" WITHOUT DELAGATING AUTHORITY TO DO HIS DAY-TO-DAY JOB TO SOMEBODY ELSE.

(key clause of rant in caps. if he wants to go off and go hiking for 4-5 days and be unreachable by anyone but his wife that's fine, but he needs to turnover authority to run his state to somebody formally before he does. it's called being responsible. i hope the voters in SC throw him out on his ass for this stunt.)

[JonInMiddleGA]

If I had to put up with some of the idiots he has to deal with, the Applachian Trail would probably look pretty good to me to. Those who recall my previous comments about my hatred of being outdoors for any significant length of time will realize how dire a statement that is.

One of the more obvious things that I didn't see getting much play in the stories I read was whether he was truly out of contact with the entire world or whether his whereabouts were simply unknown to people who had no real need to know & weren't being revealed/acknowledged by people who did know. Notice that even the articles reference several examples from people described as his political enemies, of course they're going to be critical, that's the nature of the relationship.

[Mustang]

I wish Governor Doyle would go missing for 5 days. At least then I know my taxes wouldn't go up for almost a week.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Mustang

I wish Governor Doyle would go missing for 5 days. At least then I know my taxes wouldn't go up for a week.

Could he take the Georgia general assembly & the Athens-Clarke County Commission with him please?

[Thomkal]

The Lt. Governor didn't know where he was-ya know the guy who is supposed to step in and run things if the governor can't be reached/something happens to him. I don't have a problem with him going off to "recharge his batteries"-it was probably quite a strain on him fighting the stimulus with all the extra media attention that gathered. But not telling anyone where he was going/having a way to contact him if things were dire is just irresponsible.

And I can already see the political ad from the Democrats-"He wasn't even at home to celebrate Father's Day with his kids."

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Thomkal

The Lt. Governor didn't know where he was-ya know the guy who is supposed to step in and run things if the governor can't be reached/something happens to him.

You mean the guy who has already exhibited a tendency to be overanxious to assume control in the past? He seems to be SC's answer to Alexander Haig, so desperately wanting to be in charge.

[Thomkal]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

You mean the guy who has already exhibited a tendency to be overanxious to assume control in the past? He seems to be SC's answer to Alexander Haig, so desperately wanting to be in charge.

well I wasn't saying I wanted him in control of the state govt but he needed to know at least the governor wasn't likely going to be reachable if something should happen.

[CU Tiger]

meh....thee guy took a break.
it's SC for God's sake...nothing major has happened here since the first shots from the Confederacy....BTW i strongly support Sanford and wish Washington had a few more like him....

[RainMaker]

Seems his story might not be adding up. I don't really give a shit about what he was doing, but seems weird you'd lie about a vacation.

Sources Question Governor's Story - Greenville News Story - WYFF Greenville

[JPhillips]

Sounds similar to what brought Kirk Fordyce's political career to an end in MS.

[M GO BLUE!!!]

I find it amazing that in South Carolina they even noticed he was missing.

I was looking for a create a milk carton "missing person" thingy to make a lame-ass attempt at humor, when I found this:



Pumpy, Jr.?

[JeeberD]

I think that's supposed to be the guy from this semi-(internet)famous pic...

[albionmoonlight]

It's not a big deal. But he and his family made it a much bigger deal than it needed to be by not getting their stories straight and/or not delegating authority to the right people and/or not just telling the truth or giving a no-comment when asked.

[flere-imsaho]

Originally Posted by CU Tiger

i strongly support Sanford and wish Washington had a few more like him....

They do. Washington's full of rich former businessmen with potential infidelity issues.

[Easy Mac]

Found him. He was in Argentina, "driving the coast", "clearing his head."

Here's what I want to know. Per the timeline, he went missing. The media asked his staff where he was. His staff tracked him down, then told the media he was on the Appalachian trail. Media says huh? He returns from Argentina.

So either he lied to his staff, his staff lied to the media, or he and his staff are complete idiots.

[Ronnie Dobbs2]

The third option is a given, and I would bet the first two are true as well.

[chesapeake]

This story is pretty bizarre.

I never begrudge anyone a reasonable amount of time off, and 5 or 6 days is clearly within that threshold. I don't even begrudge him his privacy. If he wants to keep where he is going a secret, I don't care. But he needed to be a big boy and let folks know he is taking some time off so there was someone able to make decisions while he is away.

[ISiddiqui]

Originally Posted by Easy Mac

Found him. He was in Argentina, "driving the coast", "clearing his head."

Here's what I want to know. Per the timeline, he went missing. The media asked his staff where he was. His staff tracked him down, then told the media he was on the Appalachian trail. Media says huh? He returns from Argentina.

So either he lied to his staff, his staff lied to the media, or he and his staff are complete idiots.

Wait a second... what?! *reads NY Times article*

Argentina?! Ok, now that's really freaking weird. Really hurts Sanford, not because he left, but because his staff seems to be a bunch of idiots.

[DaddyTorgo]

Argentina? this just gets more and more weird

[Ronnie Dobbs2]

Is it possible that this is just a story he's given everyone, and he was actually kidnapped by a drug lord named Tuco?

[PackerFanatic]

Originally Posted by Mustang

I wish Governor Doyle would go missing for 5 days. At least then I know my taxes wouldn't go up for almost a week.

+1

[JPhillips]

I'm waiting patiently for the outrage over the money spent so he could go on a trip. Isn't there anywhere in SC this elitist could go?

[ISiddiqui]

Since his staff didn't know where he was, I'm guessing Sanford spent his own money on this

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by Easy Mac

Found him. He was in Argentina, "driving the coast", "clearing his head."

Here's what I want to know. Per the timeline, he went missing. The media asked his staff where he was. His staff tracked him down, then told the media he was on the Appalachian trail. Media says huh? He returns from Argentina.

Appalachia. Argentina. It's easy to confuse the two

SI

[Samdari]

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

i'm sure he's .... holed up with a hooker

You just left out the "in Argentina" part.

[kcchief19]

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

i'm sure he's either in the hospital for secret surgery or holed up with a hooker

I think we can set our watches by the time the word "prostitute" enters the story.

[sterlingice]

Colbert badly needs to update us on better knowing your governor

SI

[EagleFan]

I wish our gov would go MIA, permanently.

[miked]

If our governor went MIA, I'm sure we'd have a prayer on the capital steps to find him. I'm not really exactly sure what he does though, other than pray for rain and make shady land deals. I guess his approval rating is high, but then again we are in the bottom 5 for education.

[larrymcg421]

I do have to give Sonny credit for vetoing the capital gains bills.

[miked]

Yeah, it was tacked on to a bill to give companies a tax break for hiring unemployed workers. Though even that bill seemed a bit odd.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by miked

I guess his approval rating is high

Umm, with whom?

The people who didn't vote for him still don't like him & the people voted for him are disappointed by what we got from him.

If he wasn't term limited, I'm not sure he could win a primary battle in his own car much less the state.

[Thomkal]

This just gets stranger and stupider by the moment. Good thing he is having a press conference at 2 pm to explain it all. So who will the Republicans turn to now for 2012?

[JonInMiddleGA]

And yet somehow the state survived the guy going on vacation.

Will wonders never cease?