Where's Sanford?

There's a very bizarre situation in South Carolina this week, as Republican Governor Mark Sanford has gone missing and had no contact with his staff, security detail, lieutenant governor, or wife since he was seen last Thursday leaving in a black Suburban SUV.

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His office first said they had contacted him, then refused to confirm they actually had contacted him, and there were varying tales about his needing to get away from his kids (on Fathers' Day?) to write something or to recover from a bad legislative session, and late yesterday said he was hiking on the Appalachian Trail, which, as Josh Marshall points out, covers the length of most of the Eastern US.

I also noted the same glitch in the reporting that Josh did:

A number of news outlets have headlines up with some variation of 'mystery solved' or 'governor located'. But all of these stories, when you dig into them, have the same basic facts. Which is that the governor's spokesman now says he's off hiking. But they admit they don't know just where he is on the Appalachian Trail. And that no one has been in touch with him since last Thursday. That seems like a lot less than solved.

Indeed. A very strange story. I hope he's all right. And I wonder who's running the state in the meantime...?

UPDATE: Sanford reportedly called to check in and says he's mystified by all the hubbub: "The governor was somewhat taken aback by all of the interest this trip has gotten, according to a statement by Joel Sawyer, communications director for the governor's office. Given the circumstances and the attention the governor's trip has garnered, the governor communicated to us that he plans on returning to the office Wednesday, according to the statement."

If he's really that baffled, then he's a fucking idiot. And if the best spin they've got is that he's a fucking idiot, then the real explanation is probably way worse.

[Recently on Gov. Mark Sanford.]