South Carolina governor checks in after taking a hike

[tom_paine]

Source: Los Angeles Times

By Kate Linthicum
June 24, 2009

Gov. Mark Sanford finally phoned home Tuesday morning.

The South Carolina Republican had been absent without leave since Thursday, when he left town and went off the grid to "decompress" after a taxing state legislative session, aides said.

The lieutenant governor, other lawmakers and even his wife said they did not know where he was, and by the time a spokesman disclosed his whereabouts late Monday night (he was reportedly hiking along the Appalachian Trail), media outlets around the country had already reported on the second-term governor's "disappearance."

When Sanford checked in with his chief of staff Tuesday, he was shocked to hear that his absence had caused alarm, the spokesman said.


Read more: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-missing-gov24-2009jun24,0,1605240.story

---

He's baaaaaack! I wonder how his Naked Hiking Day was?

[Warpy]

1. He showed a complete lack of judgment

like his Lt. Governor said, by not supplying someone with an emergency number at which he could be reached.

If I were his wife, I'd be calling divorce lawyers just about now. I'd also be hiring a private detective because his story is very, very fishy.

[Ian David]

18. And probably a lack of clothing on Naked Hiking Day. n/t

[bloomington-lib]

19. I started the A.T. a few years ago on the 21st

I had no idea about hike naked day until the first group hiking north passed me.

[rocktivity]

2. I'm watching Rachel Maddow

She just said that his cell phone signal was picked up near Atlanta, Georgia, and someone saw him (as well as a state vehicle) at the airport there.

:headbang:
rocktivity

[havocmom]

4. here is a link about part of what Rachel just mentioned: car near airport

Fed agent reported seeing him at airport

http://www.wyff4.com/news/19837234/detail.html

Airport...

[orleans]

6. did you see olbermann talk about this story?

he said it was national hike naked day--and if this is the gov.'s cover story--can you imagine what he was *really* up to??

Nude hiking buffs ready to shed as solstice

Every year on the first day of summer, a few outdoor enthusiasts nationwide expose virtually all of themselves to insects, scrapes and thorns for the pleasure of bonding with nature au naturel.

They call it Naked Hiking Day.

"There's no way to explain it until you experience it," said Andrew Williams, 28, a machinist from Warren, Pa., who first hiked naked six or seven years ago. "It's not about being lewd and crude and all that. It's just enjoyment."

This year, the summer solstice falls on a weekend — this Sunday. Father's Day.

Hikers who prefer clothes are not happy.

Rangers and police warn that people caught outdoors in the altogether could be charged with indecent exposure. Managers of the Appalachian Trail, where the tradition is sometimes observed by those trekking from Georgia to Maine, also discourage nudity.

"It's just rude," said Brian King, spokesman for the Appalachian Trail Conservancy in Harpers Ferry, W.Va. "People are out there hiking with their kids and families, and there are Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts."

Law enforcement authorities say they see so few nude hikers, even on Naked Hiking Day, that they don't consider it a big problem.

~more~
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090619/ap_on_re_us/us_odd_naked_hiking

[Jawja]

20. Excuse me,

but you don't get to the Appalachian Trail through the Atlanta airport. Not from South Carolina.

Apparently, he took the "long way home" in this adventure.

[rurallib]

5. I am betting there was a little sex at the end of a flight out of Atlanta.

[havocmom]

8. Seems to be a common GOP ritual all righty!

But, some little voice keeps tickling my ear with: Are summer rates in effect at Sierra Tucson?

Can't shake that one for some reason.

[liberal N proud]

3. He was shocked?

I would be shocked if people didn't miss me.

:crazy:

[Happyhippychick]

11. So shocked he decided to stay out of town instead of coming right back.

[mike_c]

7. is this the latest obsession of American television zombies...?

Runaway governor? Will CNN send a reporter to sit next to him on the ride home? :rofl:

I just got back from a four day camping trip in California's Warner Mtns. Nope, I didn't leave a contact number ( don't carry a cell phone in the woods) or tell anyone where I was going (because I wasn't sure until I got there). My risk.

No. Big. Deal.

[tazkcmo]

9. What state are you governor of?

It's no. big. deal. for a private citizen to "decompress" after an extra stressful period of time but this is a governor with presidential aspirations. That. is. a. big. deal.

[mike_c]

10. only to folks obsessed with "security" and whatnot....

What, governors aren't people too? Does a different standard apply just because he's a politician?

Come on. He might be a governor, but he's also just a dude who needed some chill time, and he took it, just like anyone else might. No one was harmed. As far as I've been able to ascertain, no one other than the press and bloggers got particularly upset about it. His wife didn't feel the need to file a missing persons report. It's my understanding that his office staff were not overly concerned. The state of SC has mechanisms in place for filling his seat if an emergency demands it.

But none did. As he doubtless expected.

I say again-- no biggie. Surely there's something else happening in the world that merits actual outrage?

[Happyhippychick]

12. "Does a different standard apply just because he's a politician?"

Uh......yeah.

[mike_c]

13. well, I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree....

Feet of clay, and all that. :hi:

[Texas Mom]

17. Clearly you do not have a wife

or kids who care about where the hell you are.

Or a job with any sort of responsibility. Carry on.

[Catherine Vincent]

14. You're right! You missing 4 days IS no big deal!

But the governor of SC missing a few days is. LOL!

[bitchkitty]

15. Hiking along the Appalachian trail?

But was seen in Atlanta? I think he may have been hiking the Stewart Avenue trail!

[GoddessOfGuinness]

16. Did they ever find that psychopath who murdered people along the AT?

If not, I'd think the gov would be a little more careful about travelling without his security guys.