OPINION: Sanford needs to decide on his future after fallout

Gov. Mark Sanford admitted lying to his staff about his whereabouts and confessed to an affair with a woman who lives in Argentina.
If the governor needed time to clear his head when he disappeared for seven days, imagine what he has to think about now.
The Republican’s reputation lies in tatters after misleading the people of South Carolina and his staff.
So much for his 2012 presidential aspirations.
Sanford let down thousands of supporters who believed in him politically and thought he was above politics as usual.
The hardline conservative apologized to his wife, Jenny, and his four sons in a surreal 20-minute press conference at the State Capitol on Wednesday, but they apparently knew about his affair for five months.
“What I did was wrong. Period,” Sanford said.
The state’s first lady said she asked the governor to leave home and stop talking to her two weeks ago. She sought a trial separation from the governor to preserve her sense of dignity.
“I kept this separation quiet out of respect of his public office and reputation, and in hopes of keeping our children from just this type of public exposure,” she said in a statement. “Because of this separation, I did not know where he was in the past week.”
Sadly, marriages end in divorce and separation. That’s not the issue. The outrage includes issues about Sanford’s judgment and intelligence.
This ordeal has cost Sanford the public trust. He should meet with his family and try to restore some sense of civility. And after that, he needs to come clean with the public about his actions.
“I’ve spent the last five days of my life, crying in Argentina,” Sanford said. “I am committed to trying to get my heart right.”
If the governor intends to ride out the storm despite some calls for him to resign, he will need to show remorse and apologize repeatedly for what he did in leaving the state in limbo while he was AWOL.
Sanford said he will resign as chairman of the Republican Governor’s Association. He used the platform to oppose President Barack Obama’s economic stimulus package. His high-profile stance fueled the presidential speculation. Instead, Sanford said he will use the time he had been spending with the GOP governors to meet with his constituents.
“Jenny and Mark have four wonderful boys,” U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said. “The Sanford family needs time and space to work through their challenges. I hope they are afforded that opportunity.”
We hope Sanford has the chance, too, but after he clears his head, he needs to decide on his future. The state faces big challenges and does not need more acrimony after the bruising federal stimulus money fight.
If Sanford plans to resign, he should do it quickly rather than engaging in a possible impeachment battle.
“The people of South Carolina are resilient people,” state Sen. Hugh Leatherman, R-Florence, said. “They’ll come together, and our state will continue to move forward — even without the leadership of Gov. Sanford. And this, to me, proves there is no leadership there.”
The issues for possible impeachment include dereliction of duty for leaving the state without a planning for a crisis.
Sanford did not lie under oath. He did not commit a crime. He did not steal public funds. There was no state emergency while he was gone. But the governor has been crushed by his poor decisions.
Do we want him to serve the final 18 months of his term? Probably not. Is it worth throwing him out of office? Probably not. We’re willing to wait and see how Sanford handles the fallout. We wonder if the issues of trust make it impossible for him to govern.

— 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).