South Carolina Governor’s Whereabouts Unknown, Even to Wife

June 23rd, 2009

Update: Hiking

—End Update—

I’ll put this in Economy until I have reason to add it to other categories.

Via: AP:

Where is South Carolina’s governor? The lieutenant governor doesn’t know, and neither does a state senator who’s a close confidante. Even Gov. Mark Sanford’s wife is in the dark.

And while his staff said they knew where he was, a spokesman said he wasn’t aware that any of them had spoken with the governor since Thursday. Sanford’s wife said she hasn’t heard from him in several days, including Father’s Day.

“He was writing something and wanted some space to get away from the kids,” Jenny Sanford told The Associated Press while vacationing with the couple’s four sons at their Sullivans Island beach house. She said she didn’t know where he was, but wasn’t concerned.

Sanford, who’s also chairman of the Republican Governors Association, earned a reputation as the nation’s most vocal anti-bailout governor by refusing $700 million in federal stimulus money for schools until he lost a court battle earlier this month.

His spokesman Joel Sawyer said the governor was taking a break after losing the fight.

“Gov. Sanford is taking some time away from the office this week to recharge after the stimulus battle and the legislative session and to work on a couple of projects that have fallen by the wayside,” Sawyer said.

Sawyer told The Associated Press that he hadn’t spoken with Sanford since Thursday and wasn’t aware that any other member of the governor’s staff had, either. The governor told his staff where he was going last week and planned to check in.

“If an emergency arose and we were unable to immediately reach him, we would obviously consult with other state officials before making any decisions,” including Bauer, Sawyer said.

Sawyer wouldn’t say where the Sanford was, but said it was an area with limited communication.

A post-session wind-down isn’t uncommon and he goes “out of pocket for a few days at a time to clear his head,” Sawyer said. “Obviously, that’s going to be somewhat out of the question this time given the attention this particular absence has gotten.”

Asked how he knew the governor was OK, Sawyer referred a reporter to his prepared statements. “Again, this is not unusual. We are not at all concerned,” Sawyer said. He expected Sanford would return later this week.

Law enforcement officials who handle his security declined to comment and Sawyer wouldn’t say whether Sanford had a security detail with him. Sanford is known for taking walks and runs without security, but flight logs show he seldom leaves the state without it.

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One Response to “South Carolina Governor’s Whereabouts Unknown, Even to Wife”

  1. RMOHANX says:

    1) Ron Paul followers will recall that
    Sanford was on the Very Short List for
    his VEEP pick, in the brief window of time
    pre-election, when such talk even made
    sense.

    2) Sanford’s been fairly ‘visible’ recently
    on anti-bailout chats, and was quite vocal
    during recent US governor’s confab along
    those lines. Maybe he’s preparing a serious
    statement.

    3) Don’t let’s rule out a ‘Jekyll Island’
    phenomenon: getting away from prying eyes
    for the planning and eventual rollout of
    something grand.

    4) Or, sure, he could have gotten tired of
    the noise of the family and needed some
    down time. Anyone with kids and a busy
    schedule can identify with this.It happens.

    There’s no real reason for Sanford to “become
    despondent” and “commit suicide” simply because
    he’s not a big player and hasn’t rocked the
    boat that much. I’d be surprised…very..if
    that came to be.

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