Kick Sanford to the Curb

Mark Steyn's got some comments today on L'Affaire Sanford, "Big government more or less guarantees rule by creeps and misfits":

In a lousy week, Mark Sanford had one stroke of luck: Michael Jackson chose the day after the governor's news conference to moonwalk into eternity, and thus gave the media's pop therapists a more rewarding subject to feast on – or at any rate one of the few stories whose salient points are weirder than Sanford's. Not that the governor didn't do his best to keep his end up on the pop culture allusions: "I've spent the last five days crying in Argentina," he revealed, in presumably unconscious hommage to Evita.

It's good, and the whole thing is here; and lots more commentary at Memeorandum.

But don't miss Mary Grabar's piece at Pajamas Media, "Republicans Should Kick Sanford to the Curb":

What a public relations nightmare Mark Sanford’s revelations about his affair present to the GOP.

But I suggest that we not concern ourselves with public relations, or with sympathy for Sanford. And we should certainly not follow the path taken by Democrats, whose betrayed wives, like Elizabeth Edwards, go on a book tour or try to rationalize their husband’s affairs, as Hillary Clinton did.

Sanford’s affair proves that one’s personal life — contrary to the claims of the “Clinton lied but no one died” contingent — does affect one’s ability to govern. Sanford’s disastrous press conference revealed that he is a man still torn between his mistress and his wife. That as a governor he could take off for Argentina and place his state in jeopardy proves that the emotional turmoil of an extramarital affair clouds one’s thinking and actions. It gives the lie to the claim that one’s personal life has nothing to do with job performance. It proves that politicians’ personal lives should be the subject of scrutiny. Only a conscienceless person could carry on an affair without it clouding his thinking. Of course, there are the sociopaths, but we don’t want them in office either.

Sadly, this revelation provides fodder for the left-wing attack corps, whose favorite charge is “hypocrisy!” — especially when the cheater promotes family values and has gone after the opposition for the very same sins, as Sanford did during Clinton’s impeachment. There is nothing more that the left would like to do than disprove conservatives’ contentions that high moral values are important. There is nothing better they would like to see happen than a concession to their idea that morals are relative, that such failings are common and therefore not to be condemned too harshly.

More at the link.