Sanford, Weiner and the Limits of Political Redemption

[WestVirginiaRebel]

Real Clear Politics:

If Mark Sanford had been asked in the early months of 2009 where he saw himself four years down the line, he probably would not have answered, “Standing on a sidewalk in front of a folding music stand, pretending to debate a poster with Nancy Pelosi’s likeness on it.”

But that’s exactly what the former South Carolina governor was up to in Charleston on Wednesday: conducting the stunt as part of an effort to turn around his foundering U.S. House campaign.

Sanford’s attempt to draw attention to his Democratic opponent’s reluctance to debate him risked underscoring how his once promising political career had been reduced to a low-budget gimmick.

Unlike Sanford, former New York Congressman Anthony Weiner now finds himself exactly where he thought he would be four years ago: on the verge of launching a campaign for mayor of New York City.

But just like his fellow scandal-scarred politician to the South, Weiner appears to be struggling in his comeback effort. Something else the two men share: Their falls from grace are rooted in sexual indiscretions. And their difficulties prompt a key question -- have they overestimated the limits of redemption in a political system that has long celebrated it?

In Sanford’s infamous “Appalachian Trail” saga of June 2009 and Weiner’s “Twitter hack” misadventure two years later, the married politicians first told whopping lies in attempts to cover their tracks. Then after a short period of waffling, each held dramatic press conferences to own up to his misbehavior once the evidence had become indisputable.

Sanford held on to power for the rest of his term as governor; Weiner resigned. Now each is attempting to become the latest once-disgraced politician to reenter public life. But with polls showing Sanford trailing in a special election that should have offered an easy GOP victory and Weiner struggling to generate much enthusiasm for his comeback bid, perhaps the two men were blinded by previous successes.

In the months after President Obama’s first inauguration, Sanford was winning growing accolades within the Republican Party as the nation’s first governor to reject federal stimulus funds earmarked for his state. His reputation as a principled, fiscal conservative had him riding a Tea Party wave that was expected to launch him from the Palmetto State into a top-tier presidential contender in 2012.

Meanwhile, Weiner was adding to his reputation among progressive activists during the health care debate in Congress as a forceful and high-profile advocate for a single-payer system. The seven-term Democrat appeared poised to become the front-runner in a second bid to succeed Michael Bloomberg as New York mayor in 2013, having first attempted the feat in 2005.

Then came the scandals.

________

 

The perils of attempting a comeback.

[Valin]

There was a time...not to long ago when even politicians had some sense of shame. I r4eally want Sandford to lose...and if possible lose badly....as in the race is called 37 seconds before the polls close.