Lo and behold, Fox has a new commentator helping out in South Carolina: the ousted, very conservative, very intelligent former governor, Mark Sanford. Sanford, for whom I had high hopes a few years ago, because he was willing to go for the jugular against then–newly elected Barack Obama, was disgraced after being caught cheating on his (first) wife. As you recall, he was caught out of town, off the grid, visiting the mistress. Then all hell broke loose; his wife threw him out, and the good conservative people of South Carolina informed him that his services were no longer needed due to moral turpitude. This, even though he had an unusually successful record for cutting spending and balancing the budget, while articulating conservative positions brilliantly.
Is Mr. Sanford, then, the perfect person to explain how the same electorate which threw him out after trashing only one marriage — albeit a picture-perfect one with four adorable young sons — has now embraced Newt Gingrich, who is also articulate, balanced some budgets, trashed two marriages, and actually married his mistress (who would become first lady of the U.S., should he win the election)? Because I don’t get it.