For those unaware, Mark Sanford is the governor of South Carolina, and quite possibly the dumbest man in the United States.  Lost in the midst of the mass coverage of Michael Jackson, Mr. Sanford has officially affixed himself with the title of dumbest politician in…. what, a month or two?

     In short, the man left the country for several days over Father’s Day weekend… to fly to Argentina to meet the woman he was having an affair with.  Not only did he leave the country, but he did so without letting anyone know.  Left himself unavailable for contact.  He wasn’t even smart enough to leave himself a cover story… Apparently figuring that the governor of a state- and (no kidding) an aspiring G.O.P. presidential candidate… in this age of coverage, technology, and communication could disappear for days on end, and no one would notice.  What?

     And it gets worse!  Emails have come to light between he and his ‘friend’…

July 10, 2008, he writes: “You have the ability to give magnificently gentle kisses. … I love your tan lines … the curves of your hips, the erotic beauty of you holding yourself … in the faded glow of night’s light.”

On July 4, she wrote: “I wasn’t aware till we met last week, the strong feelings I had for you. I haven’t felt this since I was in my teen ages. I do love you.”

     Again, in this day and age of information and communication… where someone watches everything, he was negligent enough to leave a trail like this.  Are you kidding me?

     But the situation has been remedied.  He had a press conference, apologized, spouted bible verses, the usual routine. 

     Gave us a litany of excuses, reasons, shallow acceptances of responsibility. He is, after all, (in his own words) “A bottom line kind of Guy.”

     And the sad part is, he will in all liklihood politically survive this.  If he plays his cards right. there’s an outside chance his presidential aspirations may not even be dead.  How can this be?  Because we are in a seemingly permanent moral recession.  Bill Clinton had an affair, and we loved him for it.  Gone are the days that our leaders were held to a strict moral code.  And, for that matter, the days may be gone of us even caring.  And it’s sad.  This may someday be someone with an oppurtunity to be our commander in chief… and he is, without a doubt, a moron. 

     How far have we fallen… How far will we fall?