Luv Gov Sanford: God Will Heal Me

Cheating S.C. pol Mark Sanford says God will "change" him

By CAITLIN MILLAT

Updated 12:15 AM CDT, Sun, Jul 19, 2009

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Are you there, God? It's me, Governor Sanford.

Cheating South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford wrote in an editorial released in newspapers Sunday that he's hoping the Lord will forgive him for his philandering ways - and put him back on the path to righteousness.

"It's in the spirit of making good from bad that I am committing to you and the larger family of South Carolinians to use this experience to both trust God in his larger work of changing me, and from my end, to work to becoming a better and more effective leader," Sanford wrote in an opinion piece published in newspapers across his state.

Sanford was busted this month for covering up a long-term affair with an Argentinian woman he called his "soul mate," who he regularly spent time with in the South American country during his two terms in office.

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The Republican wrote a series of hot and heavy love letters to the woman, describing her curves and exotic beauty as he attempted to hide the relationship from his wife and four children back in the States.

Sanford, who admitted to the affair after a mysterious week-long disappearance that eventually revealed he had spent time in Argentina, wrote in the Sunday piece that the scandal has made his life feel like a "funeral."

"(W)hile none of us has the chance to attend our own funeral, in many ways I feel like I was at my own in the past weeks, and surprisingly I am thankful for the perspective it has afforded," he wrote.

The philandering gov's political peers said they were doubtful he could change even with the help of the Lord.

"His love letters show he's a helluva writer," said Sen. Jake Knotts, R-West Columbia, a Sanford adversary who broke the news of Sanford's disappearance.

"He's a helluva writer and a promise maker, but he doesn't keep promises to the state of South Carolina like he doesn't keep promises to his wife," Knotts told the Associated Press.

Sanford and wife Jenny are expected to return Sunday from a private vacation.