He's not, of course.
He's a mere man who cheated on his wife. Men all across the globe do it. Sanford doesn't need to call on God to fix him. He needs to buck up and get over himself.
Ultimately, he will probably get divorced because he's so conflicted as to how someone as special as he (his perception) could be in such a pickle. He also seems to be foolishly in love with his mistress, appearing to have had such a boring life, that he's had no experience with lust.
Today, he has a precious op-ed in South Carolina's newspapers:
I have struggled with how best to convey my regret in letting so many down, and in that regard I realize this column does not do justice to the process of saying “I am sorry.” A hand-written note or phone call would ultimately be more appropriate, but given the number of people I need to apologize to, I write this to begin the journey of trying to get things more right with you and others.
It is true that I did wrong and failed at the largest of levels, but equally true is the fact that God can make good of our respective wrongs in life. In this vein, while none of us has the chance to attend our own funeral, in many ways I feel like I was at my own in the past weeks, and surprisingly I am thankful for the perspective it has afforded.
If you ever have the misfortune of being at this point, whether self-induced as in my case or not, it will give you an indeed amazing perspective on life and on what really matters. I read notes from someone who worked in a sandwich shop I ate at 10 years ago, from 7th-grade classmates, from state employees and more. While there have been lifetimes of lessons learned over the past weeks, three things most immediately come to mind:
• One, forgiveness and grace really do matter. I used to believe that at an intellectual level; now it is at the level of heart. Over my life I have not given enough of either, and yet given all the ways in which my failings have come to light, I write to apologize for, in the most profound of ways, letting you and so many others down. It’s always the people closest to us whom we hurt the most, and given my standing of public trust, I know I’ve hurt many across our state. I apologize for this, and more than anything would ask for your forgiveness going forward. Read more
