Mark Sanford's affair in Argentina

Well, that explains it, said John Cook in Gawker. South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford held a press conference on Wednesday to explain his mysterious absence since last Thursday. It turns out that Sanford—once suggested as a possible candidate for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012—traveled to visit a "dear friend" in Argentina to break off their relationship. (read part of an e-mail from Sanford to his mistress) "The bottom line is this," Sanford said. "I've been unfaithful to my wife."

So the story about how he was hiking on the Appalachian Trail was just a "ruse," said Ed Morrissey in Hot Air. "Safe to say that after having his official spokesman lie to the press to cover the affair, Sanford’s career in national politics has just ended. It’s a shame that it came to this, but Sanford brought it on himself."

Mark Sanford certainly ended his presidential hopes, said Chris Cillizza in The Washington Post, but he also delivered yet another "gut punch" to the Republican Party, which was already rattled by Sen. John Ensign's confession to an affair. And things could get worse for Sanford. He'll continue to face questions for taking a state vehicle to the airport, and apparently intentionally misleading his staff about where he was going—"the cover up is ALWAYS worse than the crime."

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