Gov. Mark Sanford’s recent troubles stem from the tragedy of celebrity, says a former South Carolina State University sociology professor.

Dr. Carol Apt says what is happening to Sanford is typical of what happens to a lot of celebrities who have experienced a fall from grace.

“I was at a fellowship in Chicago when Sanford’s initial news conference took place,” Apt said. “But my colleagues there were dying to tell me about his admission of an affair the day after it occurred.

“Sanford is a celebrity in this state,” she said. “I believe what has happened to him is the same as most celebrities who begin to feel invulnerable. As with all celebrities with connections, they feel they can find someone else to clean up their mistakes. He is very focused on himself.”

Apt said what astounded her about Sanford’s behavior was the way in which he left the state.

“I feel that Sanford went beyond the tragedy of celebrity into abject irresponsibility. He just disappeared,” Apt said. “I read he dismissed his security staff and dismantled the GPS tracker on his vehicle so he was unreachable. If there had been an emergency in this state, we would not have had access to him.

“He left us, the people of South Carolina, vulnerable. He feels he can do what he wants,” she said. “I think he is arrogant to the point of being narcissistic. When he was forced to accept federal stimulus money, it blew his mind. Perhaps his act of disappearing and disregard for the well-being of the state was a childish gesture of revenge. Perhaps that is the reason that he no longer felt responsible.”

And what about Sanford’s affair?

“As with all kinds of men in similar positions, there are women who are too happy to get close to that,” Apt said. “In my opinion, he’s making things worse. This goes back to the Associated Press interview where he said he was ‘trying to fall back in love’ with his wife and the other woman was his ‘soul mate.’

“What he is doing is trying to portray the affair as a love connection in order to excuse his behavior,” she said. “Perhaps subconsciously he is trying to curry favor with those who are inclined to believe him. From everything I’ve read and heard about his news conference, it appears he shot himself in the foot by crying.

“During any scandal, one way to fix it is to portray the perpetrator as genuinely sorry. His tears had the opposite effect. His base Republican conservative group is one that adheres to traditional gender forms of behavior. Even Republican women may not buy it because men don’t cry. I guarantee the tears did not go over well with men. I think he’s afraid of the alimony he may have to pay.”

Dr. Tim Daugherty, a psychology professor at Winthrop University whose speciality areas include family dynamics, says there is little to be learned from the intense scrutiny surrounding Sanford.

“When politicians falter, people naturally wonder about psychological explanations,” Daugherty said.

“Psychologists cannot render professional opinions about real persons without an appropriate, thorough evaluation. The armchair judgments from afar that many television commentators are offering is incompatible with psychology’s focus on promoting human welfare and dignity.”

Daugherty says research shows one in three married men will engage in an extramarital affair and nearly all lie about it.

“Different types of cheating exist,” Daugherty said. “Some research suggests that women might be particularly sensitive to a husband’s emotional infidelity. Cases that involve both emotional and physical elements, such as an ongoing love affair, may be the most difficult for a spouse and children.

“The challenge for South Carolinians is to maintain focused concern about the governor’s work-related behavior while maintaining a respectful distance from a family’s private experience.”

T&D Staff Writer Phil Sarata can be reached by e-mail at psarata@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5540. Discuss this and other stories online at TheTandD.com.

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