Lt. Governor Andre Bauer Pitches Compromise to Governor Mark Sanford

Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer said Monday that he would be open to a scenario in which he would assume the governorship but not run for the state’s top office in 2010 if Governor Mark Sanford decides to resign in the coming weeks.

Bauer told CNN in an exclusive interview Monday evening that such a scenario would help calm down some of the political jockeying among other Republicans who are likely to run for governor next year. Possible candidates include state Attorney General Henry McMaster, Rep. Gresham Barrett, state Rep. Nikki Haley and professor Brent Nelson.

Bauer told CNN in the interview, “We are at an impasse now because it’s all about 2010 and the next governor’s race, and I don’t see anyone being an adult,“ In an earlier interview Monday with News Channel 7’s Robert Kittle, Bauer confirmed his scenario that he would not run and would serve only the remainder of Sanford’s term. “Yes, I have considered doing that,“ he said. “Somebody else mentioned that.“ But he denied talking to lawmakers about it.

Bauer has been traveling the state recently, testing the political waters for a gubernatorial run. His GOP rivals worry that a Sanford resignation – which would elevate Bauer to the governorship – might give him an advantage in next year’s race because he would be running as an incumbent. Sanford is not allowed to run for re-election in 2010.

“What it would do is it would get the politics out of it,“ Bauer said to CNN. “The people that are so concerned for their own political future about running for governor, would no longer be worried if I came in and became governor, because I would just say. ‘You know what? This is bigger than politics. I will go and lead in for the next 18 months and not run for re-election.‘“

Several political websites and news outlets have recently reported that Bauer political operatives have been secretly working behind-the-scenes with allies to force Sanford to resign. Bauer denied any covert efforts to oust Sanford and blamed blamed others for the reports. “It’s amazing how nasty this is getting,“ Bauer said. “It’s a black cloud over South Carolina.“

Meanwhile, Gov. Mark Sanford opened Monday’s meeting of the state Budget and Control Board by saying that John Rainey, a businessman who first approached Sanford about eight years ago and encouraged him to run for governor, had dinner with the Sanfords Sunday night and said, “I got it. You’ve apologized. You need to get on with governance.“

But Sanford told the board, “If you’ve disappointed folks as I have, I don’t think you can outdo it.“ So he then apologized personally to each member of the board.

After the meeting, he confirmed to reporters that he almost quit after announcing that he had been unfaithful to his wife. “Initially, my reaction was to resign,“ he said. But then he heard from a number of friends who encouraged him not to.

He said, “What is the message that I would send to my four boys, my and Jenny’s four boys, on life? Is it you fall and that’s the end of the story? Or do you begin the process of getting back up, of rebuilding life, trust, all that goes with it? To be human is to, on occasion, fall flat on your face. I’ve done it in the most public of circles. The question now is, what do I learn from it and what do others learn from it?“

He said going through such a public fall would make him a much more forgiving person, a much humbler person and a much less judgmental person.

One of the friends supporting Sanford is Sen. Lindsey Graham, who is godfather to the Sanfords’ youngest son. Sen. Graham told reporters Monday, “It would be in the best interest of South Carolina, in my opinion, to try and allow Governor Sanford to try and finish out his term. But he’s got some damage to repair with his family, with the people of South Carolina and I’m willing to allow him to do that and I think he can.“

But Sanford’s decision not to resign left some lawmakers disappointed, including Columbia Democrat Rep. Todd Rutherford. “We already know that if he were any other state employee he would be fired. That is state policy. You cannot be gone that long without good reason. He should have been fired. The only way for him to be fired is for him to currently resign. Impeachment at this point does not seem to be an option,“ Rutherford says.

He says he’s not focused on what the governor was doing while in Argentina, only that he left the state for six days without leaving anyone in charge, without letting his staff know where he was or giving them a way to contact him.

**Monday 11:30am Update**

Governor Mark Sanford is chairing a meeting of the state Budget and Control Board Monday morning. He began the meeting by publicly apologizing individually to each member of the board according to News Channel 7 Capitol reporter Robert Kittle.

The apology went to each member of the board: Sen. Hugh Leatherman, Treasurer Converse Chellis, Comptroller General Richard Eckstrom and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dan Cooper, who was not at the meeting but took part by phone.

The governor also apologized to the director of the board and its staff.

**Monday Update**

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - Gov. Mark Sanford is scheduled to preside over a Budget and Control Board meeting at the Statehouse Monday morning.

It will be Sanford’s second official appearance since he confessed last week to an affair with a woman in Argentina.

The Republican apologized to his Cabinet members Friday.

The Budget and Control Board meeting will be with a less friendly audience, Comptroller General Richard Eckstrom is Sanford’s only consistent supporter on the panel. The others are State Treasurer Converse Chellis, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Hugh Leatherman and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dan Cooper, who will attend by telephone from a coastal vacation.

Sanford told The Associated Press yesterday he considered resigning but decided against it.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

After spending the weekend doing what he called Friday, “soul searching”, Governor Mark Sanford has decided to carry on as governor, though he did consider resigning. In an exclusive interview with the Associated Press outside his beachfront home on Sullivans Island Sunday, Sanford said he considered resigning from office after his extramarital affair became public. He spent the weekend meeting with spiritual and political advisers who, according to the AP article, “advised him to fight to restore the public’s - and his family’s - trust in him.“

Sanford told the AP, “"Resigning would be the easiest thing to do.“ It was the first time Sanford had spoken publicly since Friday. He talked about “walking into the legislative term with a humble spirit.“

“I have to go through that voyage over the next 18 months,“ he told the AP, the number of months he has left in his second and final term. Sanford went on to say that he wants to repair the frayed trust in him and continue to serve the people of South Carolina.

All of this on the day The State newspaper released a time line of events leading up to the admission of his affair. The State first received emails in December, outlining a possible affair between Sanford and a woman in Argentina. The newspaper continued to investigate the story, right up until the day of his announcement. That morning, the paper contacted his staff and told them that they would ask the governor during his scheduled press conference about the affair. The paper then contacted close friend and adviser Tom Davis, telling him the same story as they told the staff. The governor later admitted to the affair during the press conference.

Meanwhile, the Sanfords remain separated, but the governor says they are working on their relationship. He told the AP: “If there wasn’t healing going on, I wouldn’t be here,“ making reference to his being at the beach house this weekend.

In Argentina, a 41-year-old Argentine woman has acknowledged having a relationship with South Carolina Gov. Mark
Sanford.

In a statement sent to news network C5n of Buenos Aires, Maria Belen Chapur says she will not talk about her private life.

But she says e-mail exchanges with Sanford that were widely published by U.S. media and elsewhere were obtained by someone who
hacked her account. She denies the hacker was a friend of hers. Chapur says she suspects she knows who the hacker is but will
not identify him, because she lacks proof and for legal reasons.

She says Sunday’s 200-word statement will be her only comment on the matter.

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