The Governor of South Carolina publicly apologized for an adulterous affair in a rambling monologue before the world media Wednesday.

Mark Sanford had been separated from his wife, Skil Tools heiress Jenny Sullivan Sanford. She had apparently known of the affair for some months, and after attempts to reconcile, had asked him to leave their home several weeks ago. The public had not been informed of the separation.

Sanford left South Carolina late last week, dismissing his security detail and telling his senior staff only that he was going hiking alone for a few days. He then flew to Buenos Aires, Argentina, for a rendezvous. During his absence the Lieutenant Governor admitted frustration at not having any means of contact. Mrs Sanford, during this period, said she did not know his whereabouts and expressed annoyance that he would absent himself without notice to her or his children on Fathers' Day.

Mark Sanford, 49, has an MBA from the University of Virginia's Darden School of Business, and has made a successful career in real estate in South Carolina. With no previous experience in politics, he was elected to Congress in 1994 as a Republican from the district around Charleston. He served three terms and then stood down, in keeping with his belief in term limits.

He was in Congress during the Clinton sex scandal, and voted for impeachment. On CNN in February 1999, he minimized the sexual aspect of the affair, and attacked Clinton thusly: "the issue of lying is probably the biggest harm, if you will, to the system of democratic government ... and if you undermine trust in our system you undermine everything."

He voted for impeachment, and later explained the vote by saying, "... I voted to impeach, because I think that, you know, moral legitimacy is one of the precursors to a legitimate legacy.".

Touted last year as a possible vice presidential nomineer, he had refused to discuss a possible bid for the presidency in 2012, but was on many speculative lists. He has resigned as head of the Republican Governors Association and is under considerable pressure to resign as Governor--not for the sex but the lying.

(Dave Sagarin, June 26, 2009)