I Will Leave It To Others To Throw The First Stone

I would be surprised if anyone who saw the countless headlines yesterday about Gov. Mark Sanford being MIA thought to themselves, “eh, so he’s taking a couple of days off.” Let’s face it, governors don’t just disappear for a few days.

So, today it is all out in the open. I’ve traveled the web tonight and made all the usual stops. I have a different take on this than I have seen on other conservative sights so this particular post will be link free.

I am not angry at Mark Sanford. I am sad that he has fallen short of his duty. I believe that marriage is between a man and a woman and ordained by God. I believe in turn, God blesses a marriage with children. I believe that within a marriage, the husband and wife have a duty to God, to each other, to their children and to themselves. Mark Sanford failed on all counts.

We conservatives hold ourselves to a higher moral standard than our progressive brothers and sisters. We should. We should also recognize that none of us is infallible. This doesn’t mean that when people fail that we should give them a pass. Each of us are accountable for our actions and if our morals and convictions mean anything, we must hold others responsible for their actions.

How Gov. Sanford conducts himself going forward will determine whether he is holding himself accountable and whether he is willing to do the hard work of healing the harm he has done. At this point I am not willing to throw the first stone.

UPDATE Via Instapundit:

JOHN DICKERSON: The disturbing glee at Mark Sanford’s downfall. “What Mark Sanford seemed to be trying to say is that he screwed up, in the biggest possible way, because he lost his bearings. He lost his self-control. He was indulgent. He forgot that there were other humans in the world. Yet in the constant flow of abuse, joke-making, and grand conclusions about his failings, it seemed everyone having a good time pointing at his self-indulgence was also engaging in a form of it.

Exactly. Why are Christians, who have been taught, and who should believe, that "we have all fallen short of the Grace of God" being so mean spirited and so willing to dump the concept of redemption? Is our faith so fragile that we are somehow threatened by human failure?

Mark Sanford should no more resign from his position than any other person who has fallen short of the Grace of God should resign theirs. If there is a chance that this family can find a way to remain intact through forgiveness and redemption, no one should being calling on a wife to "kick him to the curb."

Mark Sanford did not hurt the Republican party. Not every single thing is about us. Will liberals make hay? Yep. Let them, they only abase themselves and I have no giddy schoolgirl desire to aid them.