Despite putting himself (and his family) through one of the most embarrassing public bouts of infidelity in recent political memory, outgoing South Carolina governor Mark Sanford has recovered in the polls. According to the Times, he’s more popular in his state than President Obama (which perhaps shouldn’t be surprising) and even more popular than moderate Republican senator Lindsey Graham. And now that his close friend and ally NIkki Haley will replace him in the governor’s mansion, he’s looking to the next chapter. “I’d say nothing is impossible, given the last chapter of my life,” he told the paper when asked about a potential future run for office. “All I know is that I want to run through the finish line as governor.”
Meanwhile, the man who almost lost it all over a mysterious Argentinean “soul mate” has turned into a real softy. After recently watching the Oscar-winning tearjerker The Blind Side, Sanford wrote a letter to Leigh Anne Tuohy, the real-life woman portrayed by Sandra Bullock. The movie so “touched [his] heart,” he said, that he wanted to praise Tuohy’s “acceptance and unconditional love.” It is unclear whether Sanford is still counting on the concept of “unconditional love” to win back the heart of the mistress who spurned him when their affair came to light.
