Gov. Mark Sanford goes crazy, disappears

[Savonarola]

Our own governor weighs in:

Granholm says S.C. governor's actions concern her
ASSOCIATED PRESS • June 25, 2009

LANSING — Michigan's governor says she's concerned about South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford's decision to take a trip abroad without alerting those responsible in his absence.

She told MSNBC on Wednesday that it's a given a governor must "make sure that the line of authority is established when you leave the state."

Sanford, a Republican, returned Wednesday to South Carolina and told a newspaper he'd been in Argentina. His staff had said he was hiking the Appalachian Trail. Sanford said he had considered hiking the trail but changed his mind.

At a tearful news conference Wednesday, Sanford admitted to an affair with a woman from Argentina.

Granholm, a Democrat, says she likes Sanford but was concerned he was out of touch for days without letting most officials, including the lieutenant governor, know his whereabouts.

Granholm made the comments before Sanford revealed the affair.

I don't see why she is concerned by this.  No one would be worried if Jenny disappeared for good.

[Ed Anger]

I don't see why she is concerned by this.  No one would be worried if Jenny disappeared for good.

The taxpayers up there would appreciate it.

[Phillip V]

Half of South Carolina says that Sanford should resign.

Half of South Carolina residents say GOP Gov. Mark Sanford, who admitted to an extramarital affair on Wednesday, should resign from office, according to a new InsiderAdvantage poll.

The survey, conducted just hours after the governor's emotional press conference at the statehouse, found 50 percent of South Carolina voters want him to resign while 42 percent said he should remain in office. Another 8 percent had no opinion.

Voters were nearly evenly split on the question of whether Sanford, who left the state for five days to visit his mistress in Argentina but deceived his staff and the public about his whereabouts, should face impeachment by the state legislature. Although 45 percent supported impeachment, another 46 percent were opposed. Nine percent had no opinion.

But even after acknowledging the year-long affair, Sanford, who until recently had been widely seen as a potential GOP presidential contender in 2012, still enjoyed a relatively high job approval rating. The automated poll found that 47 percent of South Carolina voters approved of his job performance while 45 percent disapproved.

That's slightly lower than his ratings from one day ago – before his tearful confession – when a separate InsiderAdvantage poll showed the two-term governor holding onto a 53 percent job performance approval rating compared with 44 percent who disapproved.

The poll, conducted Wednesday evening, surveyed 926 registered voters and has a 3.2 percent margin of error.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0609/24202.html

[Caliga]

The other half is waiting for pics of this lady. 

[MadImmortalMan]

Apparently, she's pretty.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Last updated: 2:59 pm

South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford's mistress is a 43-year-old employee of an international agriculture company who speaks several languages and lives in an upscale apartment building in Buenos Aires, Argentina, local media there are reporting.



Though details are sparse, Terra Noticias reported Thursday that the woman's name is Maria Belen Shapur and she works for the international agribusiness firm Bunge y Born.


The newspaper, along with Buenos Aires Continental Radio, reported that she lives next to the Buenos Aires Zoo in a 14-story building. A witness who works in the building described her as a beautiful brunette with big eyes who plays tennis on a nearby lawn and runs every morning in her neighborhood.

The witness told the radio station that Sanford arrived at the complex, alone, with a small sports bag last week and asked to go inside the building.

Sanford admitted Wednesday to having an affair over the last year and covering up a secret trip to visit his mistress last week. The admission rocked the South Carolina political scene and has also captured the attention of the Buenos Aires media, as the governor provided few details about his lover.

Terra Noticias reported that Belen speaks English, Portuguese and Chinese, and that the company she supposedly works for is massive, with 25,000 employees in more than 30 countries, including 1,000 in Argentina, according to a profile on the Bunge Limited Web site.

[Phillip V]

Nice catch. I would fall for such a woman, too... if I was single.

[saskganesh]

The other half is waiting for pics of this lady. 

get to work, paparazzi!

One of the biggest search phrases on the internet Thursday is "Maria Belen Shapur Photo"

[saskganesh]

... hmm. is she part persian? rwwl.

[alfred russel]

The other half is waiting for pics of this lady. 

get to work, paparazzi!

One of the biggest search phrases on the internet Thursday is "Maria Belen Shapur Photo"

Wouldn't it be awesome if they just let her be and a picture of her never came out? (yeah, I know that will never happen)

[alfred russel]

... hmm. is she part persian? rwwl.

What if, against all odds, she was black? That would throw everyone in South Carolina for a curve.

[Malthus]

The other half is waiting for pics of this lady. 

get to work, paparazzi!

One of the biggest search phrases on the internet Thursday is "Maria Belen Shapur Photo"

Wouldn't it be awesome if they just let her be and a picture of her never came out? (yeah, I know that will never happen)

How would respecting her privacy be anywhere near as awesome as offering the lazy masses a momentary titilation? 

[KRonn]

Obviously this was a Democratic party plot to foist this woman on the popular Republican Governor, and ruin him politically. Why, I bet that Howie Dean even provided the plane ticket to Argentina through an un-named accomplice!

Don't cry for me Argentina......

[Phillip V]

Wouldn't it be awesome if they just let her be and a picture of her never came out? (yeah, I know that will never happen)

It would have been awesome if she let a U.S. State Governor be. The public deserves to see her.

As an aspiring writer, I need to see what inspired Sanford's heartfelt erotic letters.

[Caliga]

Given the nature of the emails he wrote to her, he's either a) an incredibly manipulative person, or b) truly in love with her (hell, he could well be both a) and b)).

If the answer is b), the only proper thing for him to do is formally leave his wife, stop pretending to want to reconcile with her, and get with the hot Latina who he is deeply in love with.  I would actually deeply respect him for doing that, though he's still a douche who should resign immediately.

I think we all know he is NOT going to do this, though.

[DisturbedPervert]

Terra Noticias reported that Belen speaks English, Portuguese and Chinese

No Spanish eh?