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Sanford Emails Apologies to Constituents

Rambling missive says new 'humility' could make him better gov

By Matt Cantor, Newser Staff

Posted Jun 30, 2009 10:16 AM CDT

(Newser) – In an online apology to South Carolinians, Mark Sanford asks for forgiveness and explains his decision to keep his post in an effort to become “a better person,” WLTX reports. “Close friends” suggested he’d be “of more service in whatever doors God opened next in life if I stuck around to learn lessons rather than running and hiding down at the farm,” he writes.

“While it would be personally easier to exit stage left, their point has been that my larger sin was the sin of pride,” he notes. Those same friends held that while his positions on “limited government, spending or taxes” may have been right, the wrong “spirit” could have led to opposition. Their belief was that if I walked in with a real spirit of humility then this last legislative term could well be our most productive one."

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South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, left, writes a letter with the help of Assistant to the Chief of Staff Leigh LeMoine in his office in Columbia, SC, on Monday June 29, 2009. (AP Photo/Mary Ann Chastain)

South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford listens to Comptroller General Richard Eckstrom during the budget and control board meeting Monday June 29, 2009, in Columbia, S.C. Gov. (AP Photo/Mary Ann Chastain)

South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford talks to the media after his budget and control board meeting Monday June 29, 2009, in Columbia, SC. (AP Photo/Mary Ann Chastain)

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I've always believed God's laws were there to protect us from ourselves, and what has transpired over this last week vividly illustrates the damage that comes personally, and to those you love and respect, in doing otherwise.
- Mark Sanford

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Sanford Emails Apologies to Constituents