To Forgive and Move On

Let me be presumptuous in saying I understand the disappointment South Carolinians are feeling this week in our governor. I too, feel the sting of deception by S. C.'s top executive.

As saddened as I am for my fellow S. C. residents, my heart truly has gone out to the man this past legislative session because I know he has stood alone, and as I would expect, lonely on so many issues.

Governor Sanford has stood dangerously close to the middle on the stimulus debate, in my view. I'm not in favor of the funding or of his concession to accept the funds, even if he accepts them on "his terms." But I respect and deeply appreciate him for his stance on so many issues. Watching him under fire over the stimulus debate is heartbreaking to me.

But playing solitaire does not excuse his failures in character. Our word and overall strength of character are about all we have going for us as members of the human race. Once they're gone, they're gone. I fear for the governor that these things are gone.

But hope is never gone. Forgiveness, of a supernatural kind, never goes away. The gruesome truth is this--we are all just as capable of the same kind of failures. Just as true is that there is hope for reconciliation.

In the spirit of progress, I would ask that S. C. takes all the time needed to recover from the shock and disappointment of the governor's infidelity, while looking forward and focusing on the tasks at hand. Transparency in state government, federal legislation underway that would provide an audit of the Federal Reserve Bank, and a black hole that is the state debt are just a few of the issues our children will care about more than they will care about this affair.

Worthy of our attention is Sanford's indiscretion--it's just not worthy of all of our attention.