OPINION: Gov. Mark Sanford's downfall continues in new interview with Jenny Sanford

Mark Sanford admitted last week his political career is over. After his second term as governor ends in 2010, it will be back to private life for the one-time potential Republican presidential candidate.

In the meantime, the public side of Sanford has become painful to watch. He admitted having an affair with an Argentine divorcee and said he crossed the line with other women during his marriage.

Jenny Sanford has moved out of the governor’s mansion in Columbia, taking her four boys back to the Charleston area for school.

And for the first time, the first lady spoke out in depth about Sanford’s behavior and the motivation behind it. Her comments in the September issue of Vogue magazine reveal a governor who started to serve with good intentions, then lost his way after he became obsessed with the trappings of power.

Jenny Sanford has refused to embrace the new incarnation of the governor. While she and Sanford were separated, she would not give him permission to see his “soul mate,” saying she can forgive infidelity but not condone it.

Now, in the Vogue interview, she has reinforced her position of strength by saying she’s willing to take the governor back when he finishes with his mid-life crisis.

“All I can do is forgive,” she told Vogue. “Reconciliation is something else, and that is going to be a harder road. I have put my heart and soul into being a good mother and wife. Now I think it’s up to my husband to do the soul-searching to see if he wants to stay married. The ball is in his court.”

Jenny Sanford’s comments about her marriage were not new. But revelations about how Sanford went from committed husband to wandering soul were insightful.

“Over the course of both pastoral and marriage counseling, it became clear to me that he was just obsessed with going to see this woman. I have learned that these affairs are almost like an addiction to alcohol or pornography. They just can’t break away from them,” she said.

Jenny Sanford said she backed her husband’s political career reluctantly. When he was elected to Congress — and later, governor — she was supportive. As he became successful, he was fixated on moving up and becoming more influential.

“Politicians become disconnected from the way everyone else lives in the world,” she said. “I saw that from the very beginning. They’ll say they need something, and 10 people want to give it to them. It’s an ego boost, and it’s easy to drink your own Kool-Aid.”

Jenny and Mark Sanford view the world differently. She told the magazine she sees her children as her legacy. The governor has been searching for his place in history, and, inexplicably, found it as a philanderer.

“Mark is worried about what his next job is. He worries about making money, running for office again, his legacy. I know my legacy is my children. I don’t worry about that,” she told the magazine.

The comments from Jenny Sanford continue to show wisdom and courage in face of a public spectacle. She’s seems classy and understanding, even faced with the truth of her husband flying to Argentina for affection.

“It never occurred to me that he would do something like that,” she said of the affair. “The person I married was centered on a core of morals. The person who did this is not centered on those morals.

“Everybody would like to escape sometimes. I’d like somebody 5,000 miles away I could e-mail. It’s not exclusive to men, but I know that isn’t realistic.”

With the governor staying in office rather than resigning, and with lawmakers lacking the courage to remove him, the state will continue to endure the aftermath of the Sanford affair. It’s painful to watch, but revealing about the man voters entrusted with the highest office in the state.

— Unsigned editorials represent the views of this newspaper. Editorial Board members are Mark Laskowski (regional publisher), James Bennett (regional editor), Sam Bundy (sports editor), Kimberly Ginfrida (news editor), David Johnson (regional circulation director), Charles Tomlinson (Lake City News & Post editor) and Jackie Torok (metro editor).