Apples and Oranges

Mark Sanford. The mere mention of his name seems to spark strong emotions in the hearer. Feelings of disappointment, anger, and the occasional empathic sigh from those who find themselves in loveless marriages. While everyone seems to be shouting for his resignation as South Carolina's Governor, I've been pondering the subject and the merits of such a demand.

Although I agree his extramarital relationship has been devastating to his family, I do not see how people can so easily impute the sins of a person's private self to his public life.

There are two separate contracts involved in this scenario, a marriage contract and an Oath of Office. The marriage contract is a very intimate and solemn contract between a man and a woman, not between a man and his entire state or the entire nation. The words of the marriage contract differ considerably from those in the Oath of Office. Wedding vows often say something like:

"I, John, take thee Jane, to be my wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better – for worse, for richer – for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part, and thereto I pledge thee my faith."

The language is very clear that the contract is being made between 2 people. The business contract Gov. Sanford entered into when becoming the governor of South Carolina reads like this:

"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I am duly qualified, according to the Constitution of this State, to exercise the duties of the office to which I have been elected, (or appointed), and that I will, to the best of my ability, discharge the duties thereof, and preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of this State and of the United States. (So help me God.)"

There is a definite difference in the language and expectations of these two forms of contracts.

Within a marriage there are expectations that do not exist in the business world. How absurd would it be if a wife expected her husband to create a PowerPoint presentation to explain their budgeting strategy or for a elected official to ask his executive assistant to be understanding of his mother when she comes into town. We can not flippantly say an individual's personal life reflects their business matters any more then we could say their business activities reflect upon their private life.

I ask you, if you see someone who has been proven guilty of fraudulent business practices do you call for his marriage to be revoked? Then why do people automatically call for a man's resignation and say he is unfit for office when they find out his marriage is unhealthy and he has made bad choices in his personal life?

Take a look at Gov. Sanford's record as a public servant and you will see he has been fighting for the people of South Carolina for a long time. He has been fiscally responsible and honest in office- which is a rare find in today's political arena. Gov. Sanford has taken the heat for his fiscal responsibility more times then we will know and has been fighting for South Carolina's freedom from Federal enslavement. Now, in his time of crisis, the state turns their back on him and calls for him to resign because he has issues in his personal life? I say it is like comparing apples and oranges and it can't be done.