Governor Sanford's Disappearing Act

The bizarre behavior of Mark Sanford, the Governor of South Carolina, last weekend through today cannot be explained. He apparently decided to go on a jaunt outside of the state and basically remained incommunicado during his absence.

Aside from the fact that the story sounds a bit strange, particularly since he is a father and it was Father's Day Weekend, his wife didn't even know where he was or how to reach him.

All of this wouldn't be a matter of public concern but he is the Governor of South Carolina and he was derelict in his duty to simply take off without advising the Lt. Governor or Law Enforcement. His absence also set off a panic of sorts in South Carolina. Valuable police and security resources were wasted in efforts to determine his whereabouts.

His explanation: I went hiking and needed some down time. Unacceptable! No one is denying him the right to take a vacation but E.T. call home. To vanish without a trace seems odd, at a minimum, for someone who is the chief executive of a state.

Fortunately, there weren't any major crises in South Carolina the past several days, but what if there were? What if a hurricane was approaching? What if some other natural or man-made disaster occurred and Sanford was MIA?

Perhaps he is suffering from stress, perhaps he is hiding something, perhaps there is some other explanation. Who knows? But, even if there were, the complete secrecy in inexcusable under any circumstances and it surely eliminates him as a future presidential candidate in 2012. Unless the Republicans are so desperate and stupid to try to explain this away to the American public.

Public officials aren't perfect, but we shouldn't make excuses for them either. Sanford acted irresponsibly and instead of taking responsibility now he is acting as if his absence was either no big deal or a misunderstanding. This does not pass the smell test and he needs to answer some tough questions not only about his behavior and the power vacuum it created and the needless expenditure of state resources, but also about his mental condition generally.

Frankly, I don't think South Carolinians want an oddball running their state. And, right now, Sanford definitely falls into that category.