But there is one thing we haven’t escaped -– Mark Sanford, the wandering governor of our adopted state. The Myrtle Beach Sun News, whose front pages are typically filled this time of year with tourism-related stories, has mentioned the Appalachian Trail the last few weeks as much as written about the Grand Strand. Unless you have been deprived of all Internet, newspaper, and television access in the last week, you know
One wonders if there is a connection between cheating at golf and cheating on one's wife.
According to my neighbor in Pawleys Island, a full-time resident of the state, Governor Sanford had been a fairly good golfer early in his political career, certainly fitting in a state that depends so heavily on golf tourism. I wonder if he cheated at golf. There may be a natural connection between cheating at the game and treating cavalierly the women in your life. We have only to look back to William Jefferson Clinton, who notoriously dropped a few extra balls in the rough during friendly matches, for the archetypal example of cheater at the games of golf and relationships. Or the James Bond character Goldfinger who blatantly cheated at golf and painted his women to death, in gold leaf.
During Clinton’s troubles over the Lewinsky affair, then Congressman Sanford called for the President to resign, saying Clinton lacked “moral clarity.” Many South Carolinians are willing to forgive the governor his lapse of fidelity and are pulling for him to repair his marriage. But his hypocrisy – preach one thing, do another – is a different story. Within a few days or months, a suddenly ex-Governor Sanford may have to practice what he preached during the Clinton impeachment hearings. He may soon have a lot of time to recapture his golf skills.
