I generally try to temper my expectations about politicians, but I'll have to admit that this one disappoints me. I thought the guy had potential. Clearly, now, he has feet of clay.
I do believe, however, that there is a teaching point here about one of the key differences between Conservatives and Liberals. Conservatives have their philanderers just like the libs, but we throw ours under the bus when we find out about them. If Sanford had been a rising star in the Democrat party, Carville and Begalla would have already tracked down the mistress and begun destroying her personally as a means of making their guy look like a victim.
And on a personal note I'll point out there are not a lot of advantages to being pudgy, near sighted, unattractive, middle aged and disagreeable in disposition. One of the few advantages is that I'm not put in the way of the type of temptation that keeps getting these pols in trouble. Many a life has been ruined when the little guy starts doing the thinking.