Awkward: Mark Sanford Takes Out 1,200+ Word Ad Explaining Trespassing Charges

Former Gov. Mark Sanford’s ex-wife, Jenny, filed a lawsuit against him in February alleging that she caught him trespassing at her home. He says he was there watching the Superbowl with his 14-year-old son.

Regardless of his excuse, it doesn’t reflect well on him, right?

So what does the former governor do? Does he sweep this embarrassing episode under the rug? Does he hire a slick PR firm to help him figure out how to contain the damage?

Of course not.

Sanford over the weekend decided to take out a full-page, 1,200-plus word advertisement explaining his side of the trespassing allegations:

South Carolina Soapbox blog.

“This week’s news caught everyone by surprise as the mechanics of my and Jenny’s divorce had been sealed to avoid the boys having to deal with any of this. Leaving aside the unusual timing of supposedly sealed documents coming to light two weeks before an election – Jenny and I have both agreed that our efforts at raising our four boys are best considered and weighed privately, rather than over the airwaves,” the ad reads.

“Though we may be public figures, we are still human figures who struggle just as so many other families and divorced couples do in getting childrearing right as best you can. It’s hard enough on its own and it’s nearly impossible when the media is sensationalizing things. I would also respectfully submit that they do a real disservice to the truth when they are grabbing for headlines,” it adds.

Yikes.

Was this Charleston Post and Courier ad really the best thing Sanford’s team could think of?

“What better way to solve that problem than a … paid ad that not only rehashes — in painstaking detail — Sanford’s decision to go to his wife’s home when she was out of town to watch the Superbowl with one of his sons but also includes phrases like ‘I have faults and they are well chronicled’?” the Washington Post’s  Chris Cillizza writes.

Exit Question: Do you think the trespassing lawsuit, the awkward ad, and the fact that RNC has withdrawn its support from his campaign means Sanford's political comeback is over? Or do you think Captain “Appalachian Trail” has a few tricks (luck?) left up his sleeve?

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Featured image screen grab.