In an attempt to conceal this private matter, Mr. Sanford deliberately and willfully deceived the people of South Carolina. He eluded the state\u2019s top law enforcement agency and lied to staff about his whereabouts. And he abandoned his duties and exposed this state in a way no elected chief executive should. By making himself unreachable and refusing to take the simple step of turning his authority temporarily over to the lieutenant governor while he was out of the country, he left more than 4 million South Carolinians unprotected in the event of an emergency that only he had the constitutional authority to respond to, particularly one that would call for the assistance of the National Guard. That is inexcusable.<\/p>\n
The governor has decided to resign as head of the Republican Governor\u2019s Association because of the problems, and we believe that is appropriate. There are those in our state who understandably question whether he will be able to continue as our state\u2019s chief executive, and believe he should resign as governor as well. We are not ready to join them at this point.<\/p>\n
This story is still unraveling, and we do not know what else might be turned up. Moreover, Mr. Sanford\u2019s own actions in the coming days and weeks will play a huge role in determining whether he is fit to continue as governor.<\/p>\n