What started out as a bad rumor which then turned into a bad joke has turned into a bad nightmare for the State of South Carolina.

When Sanford took the podium today, I still wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. I mean, we all need vacation to recharge the batteries.

But when he started issuing words and phrases such as “apology,“ and “I’m sorry,“ I had a bad feeling I knew where it was going. Sure enough, another politician had fallen. I don’t know why but I felt the bottom drop out from my stomach when I heard the news.

Here was a crusader, a white knight if you will, knocked to the floor. A hypocrite had been exposed. It reminded me of the scene in “The Dark Knight,“ when Batman warns Harvey Dent to stay above water because the people of Gotham needed him. Dent failed and became Two-Face. Apparently, Sanford has been two-faced the whole time.

I’m not sure what’s sadder, the fact it happened or the fact it happened again. I’ve lived in four states in 8 years. Jersey, New York, California, and here in South Carolina.

Everyone of those states have been rocked with some kind of scandal in their governors office within the last decade. Today’s was bad but it was nothing compared to what I saw in Jersey a half decade ago.

I remember that story evolving like a freshly cut onion. I remember the facts and the order in which they were uncovered.

1) McGreevey is calling a press conference.
2) McGreevey is announcing he is stepping down from office
3) McGreevey had an affair
4) McGreevey had an affair with someone in his office that he promoted
5) McGreevey had an affair with someone in his office that he promoted and then fired
6) That someone is a man.

I remember my WSYR news room going absolutly crazy. The late Bill Leaf was howling in laughter at the maddness taking place. To this day, news, sports, entertainment, whatever that was my most memorable story I’ve ever been around.

The good news we can all take from that day is Jersey went on and is doing fine. Go head make your Jersey jokes, but life did in fact go on there.

Who knows, this could be the spark we all need to get going and get this state back up and running.