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The real question is, how did they notice Sanford was gone?

June 23, 2009 —

Last week, as so many of his detractors have suggested he do over the years, South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford took a hike.

Fresh off the legislature’s annual override of all his vetoes, the outspokenly libertarian Republican left word with his staff that he’d be on the Appalachian Trail for a few days and would be hard to reach, and then took off in an SUV assigned to his security detail. Sanford has done this kind of this before, most recently in April when he was on an unannounced industrial recruitment trip to Europe when a disastrous wildfire threatened Myrtle Beach.

This time, however, Sanford’s absence got noticed in the local press, and then went viral, with a big splash on cable and the liberal blogs (although, interestingly enough, there was not a word about it on InstaPundit, the libertarian Republican blog of choice).

How, it was asked, could a governor be absent from his four sons on Father’s Day and think he could run for president? How could his wife not be certain of his whereabouts? Under what circumstances could Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer take charge if there were an emergency? And why was the last ping on the governor’s cell phone from a location near Atlanta, when there are easier ways to access the trail?

Perhaps the most puzzling question went unasked, however: How did anyone notice he was gone?

Sanford, who has feuded with Republicans and Democrats alike, and who inquired after he was elected whether he could live in his beach house on Sullivan’s Island rather than the governor’s mansion in Columbia, can lay claim to being – the first word to come to mind is “disengaged,” but it would be more accurate to say, “distant” governor in the country.

There may be a clue to the answer to that question in the suspiciously anxious concern of some of Sanford’s prominent rivals over his whereabouts. Bauer, who is mounting his own bid for governor, said he’d called Monday demanding an immediate telephone conversation with the governor, and Senate Minority Leader John Land issued a statement saying he was “praying” for the governor.

That at least was the opinion of some of Sanford’s allies, who told The Hill they thought his enemies had kicked up a fuss to get under Sanford’s skin. Whether that’s true or not, it is safe to say this is the most Sanford has been missed in his two terms as governor.

By Tuesday morning, this mystery-in-a-knapsack appeared to be on its way to resolution. Joel Sawyer, Sanford’s spokesman, said the governor had been “taken aback” when he called in and found about the furor over his absence. Sawyer said Sanford would be back in his office Wednesday, but it was unclear whether he was cutting his trip short or returning when he’d already planned.

As for how this affects Sanford’s presidential aspirations, a little perspective seems in order. Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal don’t appear to be holding very strong hands in the runup to 2012, but compared to Sanford they look they’re sitting on a full house. And if being absent from one’s children on Father’s Day were really a disqualifier, Ronald Reagan would never have been president, and Rudy Giuliani wouldn’t have even bothered to run.

Presumably, this story will blow over after Sanford gets back to town and holds a press conference, but there’s one more tantalizing detail. Sunday was Naked Hiking Day on the Appalachian Trail, when some hikers take to the woods in the buff. If any photos of a familiar-looking nude hiker ever surface, this story could really have legs.