South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford was Citizen Outreach’s keynote speaker at the first annual Conservative Leadership Conference we held in Reno back in 2007, and I received a letter from him this week addressing the issue of his recently-disclosed extra-marital affair.
“I have struggled with how best to convey my regret in letting you down,” the governor wrote, “and in this regard I realize this letter does not do justice in my attempt to begin the process of saying I am sorry.”
Sanford continued:
“…I wanted to write to apologize for, in the most profound of ways, letting you and so many others down. In life it’s always the people closest to us that we hurt the most, and given our friendship and shared belief in limited government and liberty, I know I’ve hurt you. I apologize for this, and more than anything ask for your forgiveness going forward.
“…I want to thank you for your kindness and support over the years. I plan to be a better friend going forward to indeed honor all you and others have done for me over the years. Thank you for taking the time to read this, and I apologize again.”
Now contrast that with Sen. John Ensign’s apology a couple days ago in his first public appearance since his own extra-marital affair was revealed:
“I haven’t done anything legally wrong.”
Is it just me, or does anyone else find this far from adequate?
