Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Politics / Woods Governor Goes Hiking, Sparks Political Frenzy
Posted by Jeff Woods on Tue, Jun 23, 2009 at 7:31 AM
Sanford's last known location was near Atlanta late last week. A mobile telephone tower there picked up a signal from his phone, according to a source familiar with the situation.Sanford's political enemies went ballistic. "I cannot take lightly that his staff has not had communication with him for more than four days, and that no one, including his own family, knows his whereabouts," Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer huffed. Senate Democratic leader John Land said, "It's one thing for the boys to go off by themselves, but on Father's Day to leave your family behind? That's erratic." Turns out, his office said last night, Sanford went hiking somewhere on the Appalachian Trail. He needed a little time to himself after the legislative session. To political insiders, that makes Sanford crazy. Politico predicts he will become the butt of late-night humor because of this little outdoor adventure of his, which is "only the latest reminder of his eccentricity." It could hurt his presidential hopes, they say. Meanwhile, Sanford's probably relaxing on a sunny mountaintop in the Smokies at this moment. What a nutjob!
Comments (29)
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I'm still keeping my fingers crossed that this was a long-overdue visit to his secret other family.
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Ummm ... Jeff, I think your bullshit meter is on the fritz. This story stinks to high heaven. On FATHER'S DAY weekend a guy with 4 children decides to take a state car and hike the Appalachian Trail and not tell anyone? Even his WIFE?
This seems normal to you?
Especially after his off the rails rants last week about how the economic stimulus bill is akin to slavery?
Sorry buddy but there's something way out of whack here.
I just learned that Sanford's hiking adventure occurred on Naked Hiking Day.
Coincidence? I think NOT!
:-)
Also his wife was all "He's going to write a book and leave the kids for a minute" and his staff said he was "hiking" but then there are cell phone records of him being in Atlanta? I mean, Atlanta. Bananas.
His wife and his staff didn't know where he was. That is what makes this news.
Yes, they are trying to downplay this now but they had to freaking trace his cell phone signal! That certainly is an indication that people were alarmed, to say the least.
SB, my bullshit meter is on high alert 24/7. It does not detect any bullshit here. What exactly is the big deal? On the Appalachian Trail, you are never more than a day or two from a road, and you can usually pick up cell phone service. So he's not out of touch completely. Not that he needs to be in communication at all times. It's not like he's got his fingers on the nuclear controls. Are we sure his wife and staff didn't know where he was? Or were they just telling reporters that? To me, going hiking seems like a perfectly normal thing to do. What's weird is thinking there's something wrong with it.
If he is on a mountain top it is highly probable that his signal did bounce off of a tower around Atlanta. It would be brief, but highly probable.
Well, if he's got any sense, given the heat, he went to New England to hike the trail up there. So he might have gone to Atlanta to catch a flight.
Jeff, I'm not convinced he IS on the Appalachian Trail! Someone is covering for him. If I were to guess I'd say he's taking what we used to euphemistically call a "rest" for his "nerves."
Ahem.
The fact that his own wife did not know his whereabouts, that it was Father's Day weekend and he has 4 kids and he just took off without telling his family where he was going, and people were alarmed enough to actually run a trace on his cell phone to locate him (what, they couldn't call? They had to pick up the GPS?) ... THAT tells me something is up.
Call it woman's intuition and if I'm right, you owe me a beer.
:-)
Maybe he was abducted by aliens. Seriously, what's all this bullshit about Father's Day? So what? He went hiking on Father's Day. Big deal.
So, let me get this straight, Woods, you could ditch your whole life today--family, work, etc. and vanish until next Tuesday and no one would find that weird?
It's not like he went hiking ON Father's Day. He "went hiking" for a week without telling anyone where he was going or when he'd be back, leaving no one officially in charge of the state.
And you don't think that's in the least bit strange?
Southern Beale is right. There's something hinky going on. I'm hoping it's just as quaint as "He was on a seven day bender," because when was the last time that happened?
No it's not strange. It's cool. I just watched Pale Rider on TV. Clint Eastwood beats the crap out of the bad guys with a hickory stick and then rides out of town. And the gold miner rides up to him and asks, "Mister, are you just passing through?" And Clint says, "Hadn't thought about it."
That's cool. When Sanford told his aides, "Don't call me, I'll call you" and drove away, that's cool too. I don't know where you guys are getting this crap about his wife not knowing where he went. She never said that.
Ruh-roh, someone is BUSTED and Jeff Woods is gonna owe me a beer!
Sound of Other Shoe Dropping?
Local TV station in South Carolina reports that a federal agent spotted Gov. Sanford boarding a plane in Atlanta, and though the report is not clear on when the sighting occurred, the implication is it was about the time Sanford went missing last week. The station also reports that a missing state vehicle, presumably the one the governor was using, was "tracked down" at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. WYFF is the NBC affiliate in Greenville, S.C.
"First lady Jenny Sanford said Monday her husband has been gone for several days over Father's Day weekend and she did not know where."
So what? He got on a plane. As I commented earlier, if I were him, I'd take plane to Boston, rent a car and hike on the A.T. in New Hampshire or Vermont where it's nice and cool this time of year.
So, let me make sure I understand...if it were you, you'd go hiking in NH or VT where it's cool.
I see! Great point! Great enough to make twice!
Woods, Sanford ought to buy you the beer that you're going to owe Beale, because you must be the only person alive who heard of his shenanigans and thought "Cool" and not "I wonder if it's going to be a hooker and blow or a fake family or what kind of scandal."
"To me, going hiking seems like a perfectly normal thing to do. What's weird is thinking there's something wrong with it."
Way to build me up so you could knock me down, Woodsy! That's what I'm here for!
Woods: "I don't know where you guys are getting this crap about his wife not knowing where he went. She never said that."
Newspaper: "First lady Jenny Sanford said Monday her husband has been gone for several days over Father's Day weekend and she did not know where."
Any comment, Woods?
Woods you're really missing the story here. It's been widely reported that Sanford's wife has said she didn't know where he was:
http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2009/jun/23/sanford_walks_while_state_talks86907/
It seems odd behavior to me for a married man with four kids to leave his family over Father's Day weekend without telling his wife where he was going.
If he was hiking he should have told someone where he was going and when he was returning for safety's sake.
I'm sure you've gone off on a bender or two Woods, but that doesn't make it normal.
Doesn't Father's Day mean that he gets to do whatever the fuck he wants? Why is this news?
I know when I go hiking I always leave my ball cap, sunscreen, and sleeping bag in the car. At the airport. No, the airport in Columbia, which is where I left it, before taking a plane to Atlanta, where I boarded a plane for God knows where.
Sorry, Woods. You're wrong on this one.
Sanford got smacked by the state legislature and he decided his huff had arrived and he was gonna leave in it. Even MORE petulant than George W. Bush, can you imagine? And when he couldn't be found and they sounded the alarm bells they had to trace his cell phone signal to find him. And then to cover for the incredibly irresponsible behavior of their chief executive they made up this "hiking" story, which was an epic FAIL because the very trail he is supposedly hiking benefits from the economic stimulus package he's been fighting. OOPS.
What, Beale? So he went to Argentina. All the cool kids start their Appalachian Trail Hikes from Argentina.
