True lesson of Mark Sanford saga overshadowed by sex
Tribune Media ServicesThe following editorial appeared in the Miami Herald on Friday, June 26:
___
Let's hope politicians around the country don't draw the wrong lesson from the scandal involving South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford and his admitted dalliance with a woman from Argentina.
A tearful confession before TV cameras last Wednesday and repeated apologies to wife and family gave Gov. Sanford's revelation of an affair a soap-opera quality. The governor's self-promoted image as a strong upholder of family values and advocate of moral integrity added a taint of hypocrisy to make the melodrama juicier.
Ergo, the moral is likely to be that if you preach family values, either walk the walk or don't talk the talk. The true lesson of the Sanford saga, however, was overshadowed by the sexual innuendo and is a lot simpler: If you're going to sign up to be chief executive of the state, you can't just take a hike for a week without letting anyone know where you are.
As it happens, Gov. Sanford's staff thought he was literally taking a hike and told that to anyone who asked. He led them to believe he would be walking along the Appalachian Trail, an isolated path that extends through rugged terrain for hundreds of miles from the Deep South to New England. Instead, the governor secretly flew to Argentina to see his paramour, as he later disclosed.
Whether he was dancing a fancy tango in Buenos Aires or marching over the mountains is irrelevant to the larger issue. What matters is that he was incommunicado for a week and not only remained out of touch for days but failed to tell anyone where he was and how to contact him. He even turned off his cell phone for good measure.
In the private job market, that kind of bizarre behavior would be met with a strong reprimand from the boss, at minimum, possibly exposing the employee to the risk of being fired. Public officials should be held to the same exacting standard.
This is where Gov. Sanford's true dereliction of duty lies. The governor's constituents may or may not forgive, or overlook, his sexual impropriety. Going AWOL is another matter altogether. No one in elected office should deprive the public of the services that the public has a right to expect. That represents a failure to fulfill the commitment of the oath of office.
Public officials should always be able to live up to the public's expectations. They should be able to carry out their duties no matter how complicated their personal lives become. If not, they should pass the baton to someone else.
Sanford failed in the most basic job requirement _ showing up for work. That is what his state's constituents _ and other public officials _ should keep in mind as they contemplate the ruins of his promising political career.
___
(c) 2009, The Miami Herald.
Visit The Miami Herald Web edition on the World Wide Web at http://www.herald.com/
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.