Graham Greene in the Palmetto State

When reports surfaced last week that South Carolina governor Mark Sanford had been out of touch for the last week, only two reasons crossed my mind that could have explained such behavior: he was suicidal or he was having an affair. Well, now we know: he isn't suicidal. Whew! I mean, whoops! South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford Admits Affair

South Carolina GOP Gov. Mark Sanford admitted Wednesday to an affair, and resigned his position as chair of the Republican Governor's Association following a strange week in which the governor dropped off the grid and could not be located.

Later in the day, Sanford's wife Jenny released a statement saying the couple had begun a trial separation two weeks ago.

“I have been unfaithful to my wife. I developed a relationship with what started out as a dear, dear friend from Argentina,” Mark Sanford said in a rambling and often emotional news conference at the state capital in Columbia.

“I’m a bottom line kind of guy I’m just gonna lay it out. It’s gonna hurt and I’m going to let the chips fall where they may,” said Sanford, often touted as a potential 2012 presidential hopeful.

Not anymore, champ. The affair may have been retarded in the extreme. But, Sanford's decision to disappear and then have his staff lie about it was the sort of recklessness that we normally associate with Democratic presidential candidates. I saw some libertarian types saying things along the lines of "so what if the governor disappears? We can get along without one for a few days!" Wrong. The governor's job is not to stand around giving orders. His job is to hold the damn office, meaning he is available on a moment's notice to carry out his official duties. Usually, this is little more than ribbon cutting and intern diddling, but you can never plan for a crisis, and Sanford took a huge risk in simply disappearing.

Of course, we are being treated once again to snotty commentary about the power of the male libido. Maybe it's time for dads across the country to turn to their sons and say, "Kid, no woman - none - is worth what he is going through right now." The problem is not the male libido; it's the nitwit male brain that comes up with lines of reasoning like this, "I am the governor of South Carolina. No one will notice if I disappear for a week to spend a summer holiday in Buenos Aires!"

This is, of course, a bad day for the GOP. Sanford was one of the few Republicans out there arguing boldly against Obama's stimulus. But, let's get real. He was not going to be the GOP nominee for president in 2012 or any year, any more than George Allen would have been the nominee in 2008. OK he made some appearances and wrote some op-eds, and lost a good fight with the State Legislature. But, he never gave any sign of having some great intellect (now confirmed!), nor does he have any sort of natural charisma that makes you sit up and think "wow!"

The presidency was never Sanford's to lose, but his governorship? Pooof.