I want to preface this post by saying that, at the end of the day, I really don’t care what people do in their own personal lives. I do, however, have a hard time with those who would work so hard to mandate what they believe to be moral – especially when it comes to marriage – turning those beliefs on their ear when it suits them. Enter Governor Sanford of South Carolina.
Sanford has been outspoken about what does and does not make a marriage. His own state has worked hard to ban gay marriages and has even taken to essentially paying married couples extra money in an effort to “promote marriage.”
All the while that Sanford has been promoting marriage, he’s apparently not been working very hard on his own. He has confessed to an affair and if I had to put money on it, I’d guess that it’s not the first.
Generally, in cases like this, when high level politicians cheat, they stand at a podium, issue an apology and cry a little, all while their lovely, committed, long-suffering wife stands by and issues a statement of support. It almost happened like that. Except for the statement of support.
Today, Gov. Sanford’s wife, Jenny, issued the following statement about her marriage:
“I would like to start by saying I love my husband and I believe I have put forth every effort possible to be the best wife I can be during our almost twenty years of marriage. As well, for the last fifteen years my husband has been fully engaged in public service to the citizens and taxpayers of this state and I have faithfully supported him in those efforts to the best of my ability. I have been and remain proud of his accomplishments and his service to this state.
I personally believe that the greatest legacy I will leave behind in this world is not the job I held on Wall Street, or the campaigns I managed for Mark, or the work I have done as First Lady or even the philanthropic activities in which I have been routinely engaged. Instead, the greatest legacy I will leave in this world is the character of the children I, or we, leave behind. It is for that reason that I deeply regret the recent actions of my husband Mark, and their potential damage to our children.
I believe wholeheartedly in the sanctity, dignity and importance of the institution of marriage. I believe that has been consistently reflected in my actions. When I found out about my husband’s infidelity I worked immediately to first seek reconciliation through forgiveness, and then to work diligently to repair our marriage. We reached a point where I felt it was important to look my sons in the eyes and maintain my dignity, self-respect, and my basic sense of right and wrong. I therefore asked my husband to leave two weeks ago.
This trial separation was agreed to with the goal of ultimately strengthening our marriage. During this short separation it was agreed that Mark would not contact us. I kept this separation quiet out of respect of his public office and reputation, and in hopes of keeping our children from just this type of public exposure. Because of this separation, I did not know where he was in the past week.
I believe enduring love is primarily a commitment and an act of will, and for a marriage to be successful, that commitment must be reciprocal. I believe Mark has earned a chance to resurrect our marriage.
Psalm 127 states that sons are a gift from the Lord and children a reward from Him. I will continue to pour my energy into raising our sons to be honorable young men. I remain willing to forgive Mark completely for his indiscretions and to welcome him back, in time, if he continues to work toward reconciliation with a true spirit of humility and repentance.
This is a very painful time for us and I would humbly request now that members of the media respect the privacy of my boys and me as we struggle together to continue on with our lives and as I seek the wisdom of Solomon, the strength and patience of Job and the grace of God in helping to heal my family.”
Jenny Sanford has done what so many women before her have failed to do: she put her children first. Before politics, before the party, before the media. She thought about what was good for her and her family and she acted on that. Too bad that we can’t say the same for Gov. Sanford.
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I was very proud of Jenny Sanford for not attending the press conference with her husband as a “show of support”. So many of the politician’s wives do the “stand by your man” thing and they give up their diginity by doing so. In most of these political scandals the couples divorce in the end. I think she is being wise in how she is handling such an awful situation. I personally do not believe in gay marriage and support what Gov. Sanford was trying to accomplish for his state. But I do NOT like Hypocrisy especially when you are in a position where you should be an example. Yes I know people make mistakes but I think he had plenty of time to think about what he was doing since a flight to Argentina is NOT a short 1 hour flight. What he did was selfish and very delibrate. I agree Jenny Sanford is an outstanding mother.