Sanford Went AWOL, But Other Govs Easy to Find

Mark Sanford may have been frolicking in Argentina, but the nation's other governors would like you to know they're hard at work, thank you very much. After Sanford’s tearful admission, the AP called state offices to fix other chief executives' whereabouts. Sarah Palin: in Eastern Europe. Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley: gone fishing with his son. Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe: well, he's at the dentist.

Because governors lead responses to natural disasters, state officials and staffers should be able to reach them anytime, one activist said. "As, unfortunately, recent scandals seem to indicate, there is legitimate public interest in knowing where a governor is." Even their personal time is fair game, it seems: As a staffer of newlywed Gov. Charlie Crist revealed, “I talked to the governor 100 times while he was on his honeymoon.”
(More Mark Sanford stories.)