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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Sanford: God will make me better

Seanna Adcox Associated Press

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, still clinging to office after admitting to an extramarital affair, wrote in an opinion piece released today that God will change him so he can emerge from the scandal a more humble and effective leader.

“(W)hile 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,” Sanford wrote in the opinion piece distributed statewide for today’s newspapers.

Sanford, a two-term Republican, returned from a mysterious, nearly weeklong disappearance last month to reveal a romance with a longtime friend in Argentina. In a series of Associated Press interviews, he described the woman as his “soul mate” but said he would work to repair his relationship with his wife, Jenny, the mother of their four sons.

Some lawmakers have called for Sanford to resign, and one state senator plans hearings on whether state money was used to facilitate the trysts.

In the opinion piece, Sanford vows to work with lawmakers he’s long fought and cites Scripture and his faith in God – just as he’s done in his few public appearances since admitting the affair.

Legislators said the governor’s previous pledges to work together always quickly disintegrated.

“We’ve heard it every year,” said House Labor Commerce and Industry Chairman Bill Sandifer, R-Seneca.