South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford and the “Forbidden Love”

[Shawn "Riff-Raff" Broadnax]

We have heard the story countless times before... Politician has a sexual fling with some random chick, some young “spring chicken”, etc. But this story is all together different.

A notable republican politician gets lost for 4 days, during FATHERS DAY weekend, everyone is thinking he's climbing the Appalachian Mountains somewhere, and then his car is spotted at an airport. He just got off of a plane from Argentina... Yes Argentina!

So when he gets back... He's got some splainin' to do!!! Especially to his constituents in his office. So he holds a press conference because the whole country was looking for him over that wild weekend. (Good thing he wasn't IN this country!)

He goes on to tell the media that he's been having an affair on his wife of 20 years with a woman from Argentina. So the first thing we think is, “That filthy, rotten, cheating, scoundrel!” We're upset and we, of course, want him to resign from his duties! We want to hold our leaders up to a higher moral standard so this type of behavior, especially from Bill Clinton's WORST critic, is not acceptable!

But Tuesday brought a whole new light to this affair and his relationship with his wife. He referred to this misc. woman from Argentina as his soul mate, and he talked about how much he loved her. This was totally different from the stories of Elliot Spitzer, John Edwards, Bill Clinton and others. This isn't the same old story of some old pervert politician who just wants to keep his life interesting by fooling around with some random young hottie, or some overpriced hooker in a ritzy hotel. No this is a story of a guy who apparently only got married for his political career reasons then actually found the person that he truly loves. This is better than watching daytime soaps!

So now that Gov. Sanford has already made all the wrong decisions, what should his direction forward be? Well some people think that he should cut off this relationship with this woman from Argentina, get to rebuilding his broken relationship at home, and attempt to rebuild his tarnished career and reputation. That seems like the most sensible resolution.

But, where would that road lead him? Most likely, that path would lead him down the road of depression and resentment. Probably right back down the road where he just traveled... But maybe with a new girl. He would definitely resent his wife, his job, and maybe the whole world for seemingly forcing him to “the right thing”.

Now what I think is both totally romantic (cause I'm that type of guy) and totally wrong... Temporarily anyway. If I had to give Gov. Stanford my opinion, Id tell him that we only live once. You're lucky that you got a chance to find that person who completes you. The damage has already been done, not only to your marriage but to your own psychological makeup. The only way that a marriage can work is if both parties want to make it work, and frankly... That aint the case! So why torture your wife through several more years when at the end... The same thing will happen again. So go with your heart, leave your political job (whats left of it), leave your non-functioning marriage, move to Argentina, and try again. Like I said... We only live once and love is not an easy thing to find...

Now.. For the record people, I believe that if you get married for ANY other reason than pure romantic bliss... You are most definitely doomed. To quote a really close friend of mines, you should find that “TV love”, and then get married. Don't get married and then look for the “TV love” thats just a recipe for disaster!