(Photo: pinoyspy.com)

There’s something dreadfully wrong with that. That C Street House, C Street Band, The Family, or whatever you want to call them knew that South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford was having an affair with Argentine reporter Maria Belen Chapur. The super-secret religious organization knew before Jenny Sanford did. But perhaps what’s even more heinous from a media point of view is that most of what we’ve heard about this “hiking the Appalachian Trail” affair has come from the perspective of Mark Sanford. Jenny Sanford has remained mostly silent, until now. She recently sat down with Vogue for an interview, and it’s telling of her inner strength during this storm.

Overheated vs. clear thinking

Vogue describes Jenny Sanford as “petite, clear-eyed, strong-willed, pious without being smug, smart without being caustic.” She wasn’t caught up in the emotional frothing at the mouth that her husband succumbed to when he spoke of soul mates and poetry. Perhaps that’s because their marriage, by her admission, was always one of friendship and comfort rather than passion. But Jenny Sanford has focused on the most important thing throughout – her legacy, the Sanford children. No secured loans or unsecured loans can buy something so valuable and irreplaceable.

Mark Sanford is the prototypical person who chomps at the bit to cast the first stone. That’s exactly what he did when he condemned President Bill Clinton’s philandering as “reprehensible.” He cut the image of wholesome, which for his wife and children was accurate. However, Mark Sanford clearly never grew up; he made the commitment to marry for friendship, believing he could find the fire elsewhere

Enter Maria Belen Chapur.

Hardly the home wrecker, Chapur lit Sanford’s fire. It also appears that she didn’t know quite what to do with such a powerful man pursuing her like a lovesick teenager. Mark Sanford decided to hike the Appalachian Trail in his pursuit of her. Perhaps it was the excitement, or the flame of passion that Mark Sanford wanted. Perhaps if Maria Belen Chapur hadn’t been there, it would have been someone else. Yet as Jenny Sanford sees it, Mark is suffering from an addiction.

“Over the course of both pastoral and marriage counseling, it became clear to me that he was just obsessed with going to see this woman. I have learned that these affairs are almost like an addiction to alcohol or pornography. They just can’t break away from them,” she told Vogue.

I see that as a weak defense of his irresponsibility

Mark Sanford has children with Jenny Sanford. You do not introduce poison into a relationship based on the upbringing of children. You act responsibly because you owe it to your children. You do not disappear “on the Appalachian Trail” (or in the case of my ex, to California). You take responsibility as a parent, because that is the most important job a human being can have.

And where’s Jenny Sanford’s comments on the C Street Band’s involvement in Mark Sanford’s passionate affair? She conveniently neglects to mention them during the Vogue interview, which indicates to me that she’s being influenced not to talk about certain things. Thus, I take Jenny Sanford’s entire interview with a grain of salt. It’s image-making, it’s theater of a sort. There’s some truth, but perhaps the heart of the matter remains obscured. And in this case, it should not be obscured. The Family (C Street Band, C Street House, etc) is involved in this crime against the Sanford children and Jenny Sanford. And while these crimes may not in themselves be punishable by law, they should be. Such harmful secrecy masquerading as religious freedom should be squashed in the interests of children. It is their right not be deceived by an important caregiver.

Midlife crisis and all that

My response to C Street House and those who "leave it in the Lord's hands." (Photo: flickr.com)

“My husband has got some issues that he needs to work on, about happiness and what happiness means. You wish it wouldn’t come to a crisis like this, but I think when a lot of men get to this midpoint in life, they start asking questions that they probably should have asked a long time ago,” says Mrs. Sanford. Maria Belen Chapur has been drawn into Mark Sanford’s crisis of maturity, and unfortunately for her, life may never be the same again. Now, is Jenny Sanford perfect? Hardly. By her own admission, “I don’t have a wild past, but I don’t have a perfect past. I worked hard, and I played hard. There are things I probably shouldn’t have done, but I was human. The question is what you learn from them.” That was her experience as a former Wall Street type, a real numbers runner.

In a nutshell, Jenny Sanford says of her marriage to Mark Sanford that “We weren’t madly in love, but we were compatible and good friends. I like to think we balance each other out. I am a conservative at heart, but I’m not passionate about ideas like he is. I am better at making the trains run on time.” Mark Sanford, as a powerful white male, mistook his station in life with the right to stomp on loved ones in pursuit of passion. Incidentally, he’s stomped on Maria Belen Chapur, too, which is something he likely didn’t intend. But his hot and heavy behavior has burned her. Not as much as it has Jenny Sanford and her children, but it has charred the earth.

She is willing to forgive

But I wish she would have taken a harder line against him. Mark Sanford is getting off much too easily, even if it is hard for politicians to remain grounded and not stoke the fires of ego. Political enemies, commentators and comedians are taking their share of pot shots, however. Politicians need to take the lead here, because Mark Sanford’s use of taxpayer dollars to chase after Maria Belen Chapur (some of it not even itemized) is in violation of the public trust. He must be impeached, and elected officials are the only ones who can truly get that ball rolling. If money is needed to start a grassroots movement to get him out, unsecured loans and secured loans are available. Apply here by clicking the button.

Jenny Sanford says that “Mark is not a bad person,” he’s just struggling. I can see that as well as anyone else. However you may choose to forgive him (likely as C Street has directed) is up to you. However, as a politician, Mark Sanford’s career should be over immediately. Yes, Jenny Sanford may be right when she tells Vogue that “If you don’t forgive, you become angry and bitter.” For the children, however, it’s best that she moves on from this hot mess of a “friend” and do what is best for the youngsters. Invoking the Lord means that you give up responsibility for your own actions. Take action, Mrs. Sanford – don’t join those with blinders on. Make a difference for your children.

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Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps. Or quizás, quizás, quizás, if you prefer. That’s what bloggers out there who think they’ve found the genuine article María Belén Chapur pictures should be thinking, because nobody knows for sure whether images of the mistress of South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford are out there. Here are the full E-mails he sent her. This is as close as the paparazzi have been able to come so far. Once verified current photos are located, money is definitely going to change hands somewhere.

Why has it been so difficult to find photos of “Maria,” as she is apparently known in Argentine media? As the Wall Street Journal speculates, it is a difficult undertaking to obtain pictures of political mistresses and love children because politicians in mid-scandal don’t have the facility to negotiate publication deals the way stars like Jennifer Lopez and Angelina Jolie do with the tabloids. The stars can negotiate their own deals (we aren’t talking online loan or payday cash loan money, here), thus maintaining some semblance of control. But scandalous politicians are generally trying to stay away from the limelight and retain their seat of power, so the attempts at secrecy are understandable.

The cameras of Buenos Aires are watching

What do we know about María Belén Chapur? She’s a 43-year-old divorced mother of two teenage boys. They live in an apartment in Buenos Aires that’s across the street from a zoo. Then it starts to get a bitch sketchy. Thanks to Gawker for their roundup. Here are some highlights:

Is she a television reporter? A marathon runner who loves to golf? Is she dirty blonde or brunette? Business Insider pointed toward Facebook photos of a woman named “Maria Chapur” from Buenos Aires. They also posted video (see below) of what is supposedly a tryout to be a television reporter. But is the woman in the video the same as the woman in these pictures?

According to TMZ, there’s a Buenos Aires bar owner who claims he saw Sanford and Chapur together. Chapur has “green eyes, dirty blonde hair and a banging body.” This doesn’t seem to match the photos and the video, but perhaps Maria is a shape-shifter.

According to Blackbook, Chapur was a student at “posh St. Catherine’s Moorlands School in the preppy Belgrano neighborhood, then graduated from the stodgy Universidad Católica Argentina with a degree in International Relations.” Gawker believes this may have come from Spanish-language press, which report that Chapur attended St. Catherine’s College.

She runs from cameras, Sanford can’t run for office

Some sources mention Bunge Limited as Chapur’s place of employment. But a separate Gawker story claims she doesn’t work there, but she did run in a marathon they sponsored. Speaking of marathons, apparently the Maria Belen Chapur that’s been created for the media is a frequent runner. She is alleged to have participated in a 2005 race sponsored by Accenture, a 10K Nike run in 2006 and a Central Park New York marathon. She may also be a body builder and former actress.

Quizás, quizás, quizás…

As I’ve said, nobody knows for sure at this point but María Belén Chapur (pictures?) and Mark Sanford, and they aren’t handing the media any gifts. That newspaper in South Carolina got its hands on the E-mails Sanford sent to Chapur, and it’s very clear that the two were having a physical relationship (and that Sanford loves the curves). A runner would likely have some well-shaped curves, so saying that Chapur is a marathon runner doesn’t seem far-fetched. If you know anything more about this woman – or why Mark Sanford thinks it’s OK to continue to run the government of a state he abandoned on the taxpayers’ dime, go to your local gossip rag and sell the info for cashola. If you need cab fare to get there, or to rent a computer with Internet access, try an online loan or payday cash loan.

This is America. We will profit from the lurid side of life!

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