Famed Actor Alec Baldwin's Poor Advice to Serial Adulterer Mark Sanford

Let me get this straight: famed actor Alec Baldwin wrote a Huffington Post blog advising disgraced South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford to remain in office and fight the rising voices of condemnation and shame calling for his resignation. These calls come amidst discoveries that the "Christian" governor has engaged in multiple affairs and placed his constituents at risk by disappearing for several days while visiting his Argentinean mistress: sometimes at taxpayer's expense.

Baldwin thinks we should look the other way. Instead of condemning this man who has embarrassed his political party, his church, his family, and constituents, we should embrace this as a teaching moment. "Whatever personal problems that public officials deal with privately, leave them alone. This could happen to anyone, in any state, regardless of party. Why make the voters of South Carolina suffer while Sanford is skewered? If he wants to resign, so be it. If not, let him deal with it in private," argues Baldwin.

Hummm. Somehow, this advice coming from Alec Baldwin causes me to consider the source. Is this the same man, who was caught on tape ranting and raging at his 11-year-old daughter whom he called "a thoughtless little pig"? And, is this the same man who expressed a longing to purchase a Filipino bride by mail? By his high-minded statements, Baldwin clearly believes that adultery among public officials is purely a private matter and is, perhaps, a fringe benefit of holding office.

I am sure that Mr. Baldwin means well. His position highlights the values difference between Hollywood and mainstream Americans, some of whom, expect their elected officials to serve the public good while exhibiting high moral standards. This is especially true if the elected official is a conservative Republican who spent much of his life preaching traditional family values while pointing accusatory fingers at other people. In the case of Governor Sanford, he and Newt Gingrich called for President Clinton's resignation in the wake of the Monica Lewinsky affair.

Sanford is a Southern Baptist, and he like others place their faith in God's abiding grace. The Bible, itself, is pretty hard on hypocrites and Jesus, himself, comes to the rescue of the woman caught in adultery, telling her accusers let he who is without sin cast the first stone. As the story goes, the accusers drop their stones and fall by the wayside. Jesus tells the woman to go and sin no more. Some of us can agree with Governor Sanford that all men are fallen and in need of a savior.

To his credit, Sanford tearfully apologized to the public, and, once caught, confessed his sins to man and, presumably, to God. Now, Governor Sanford needs to go that extra step and remove the stench from his office. It will require more than a simple repayment of taxpayers' money. While defending himself, the Governor made a comparison to the Biblical King David who committed adultery with Bathsheba, and had her husband killed in battle to cover his crime. Nevertheless, David remained a man after God's own heart. The Governor would like us to draw the implication that he did nothing nearly as bad as David.

Consider that King David paid a high public price for his sin. So should Governor Mark Sanford. The Bible warns us that leaders and teachers are called to a higher standard. In Luke 12:48, we are told that to whom much is given, much is required. The actions that are required, now, from Governor Sanford and any Christian caught red-handed are confession, repentance, and, I add, resignation. We can forgive Governor Sanford for his human frailties. We can pray for him. We can wish him well. But, what we cannot condone is another day of his remaining ensconced in the Governor's mansion defended by the likes of Alec Baldwin.

Follow Carol M. Swain on Twitter: www.twitter.com/CMSwain

Comments

[mperl95]

You missed Alec's point. He did not condone this Govenor Mark sanford behavior of adultery.
What Alec said is that there are more prevalent news to talk about and someones infidelity is there business.
I do not always agree with Alec but he does have points that are very poignant view points.
He allows us to discuss and be free to disagree.
Please do not attack Alec's personal family situation! Not yours or my business.
Alec would never go into your closet and attack you.

[LeftRight]

His points would be EXTREMELY valid, had it not been for Mark Sanford's actions before this whole story broke. When a man spends his ENTIRE political career poking his nose into other people's business, and then he's found to be doing the very actions he decried most loudly, then it's PERFECTLY appropriate for the people to stand up and break him politically!

[mperl95]

Alec Baldwin's point of views are his own. Carol Swain could write her own and not attack Alec Baldwin's character.
Carol's arguement is weak because she distances herself as a journalist when you offend his character.
Pick apart his view but do not attack his personal concerns.
He gets way more responses to his blog then any blogger of Huffington Post because he is engaging.
I do not agree with him on all his points infact I tell him so but I do not do character assassination.
It does not work in politics and does not work in journalism!

[lordjin]

What another poster called outdated, idiotic, puritanical standards (I don't disagree with that comment), can just as easily be called the moral ideal that our country strives to live by, both as a citizenry as well as a body of elected leaders. In the absence of a religious institution making our laws (thank god), there is the notion of God and Country. We have separation of church and state (mostly), but there is a certain moral, ethical standard to which we, as citizens, are expected to abide by...and it is the measuring stick to determine who is and who is not a good person and a good American. There is a definition of right, wrong, good, bad that all decent people agree upon. By these standards, the same standards we are expected to apply to ourselves (and so it's only right and natural that our leaders are expected to do the same) Sanford is a failure as a husband, a father, and a person... Not qualified to represent a family or a constituency of voters.

While i might be able cut slack to say a Clinton or an Edwards, I don't think I can say the same for a republican... These guys go around hammering into our heads the sanctity of marriage, the nobility of child-rearing, and that life is not life unless it's blessed by and based in Jesus Christ. So no, I don't forgive you, Sanford... and I don't agree with you, Baldwin.

[RoloTomassi]

My point about such a barrier being broken by a GOPer is that to dismantle our uncommonly puritanical mindset in judging the abilities of legislators or other people with representative responsibilities, a GOPer being able to break that ceiling would be an assault to the standard at its most vocal base.

As far as Standford goes, his failing to me is in the area of managing his official responsibilites; if he had continued to keep his "ducks in a row" in an official capacity, he would have been able to continue his affair and could have kept it out of the realm of public knowledge--and in politics, personal information of that nature does not matter in any significant way if is not known to the public.

To me it's hypocritical of US citizens to expect politicans to keep secrets about all sorts of information not made privy to the public [information that sometimes a majority would object to strongly], and then turn around and be an open book on personal matters that do not have a direct effect on policy. The only effect a sex scandal has on policy in reality is with the reaction of others and the resulting issue of confidence; such is as logical and sound as accepting wild ranging stock market fluctuations based on rank rumors as a norm for daily operations.

[LeftRight]

And we as citizens can choose to live by that moral code, WITHOUT BEING UPTIGHT ABOUT IT!!! I don't cheat on my wife, but I don't expect an award. Mark Sanford claimed that he didn't cheat on his wife and not only expected an award, but expected to be able to sit in judgment of those who DID cheat on their wives!! THAT'S the unforgivable part here, the hypocrisy!!

[ams87]

He wasn't saying it was right for Stanford to cheat, he was simply saying there are bigger things going on in the world (Eg Iran) to bother about something so trivial as a guy cheating on his wife.

[mcthfg]

If he can't keep a promise to his wife, why would he bother to keep a promise to me?

[LeftRight]

That's complete bull and you know it. The fact of the matter is that some of our best Presidents have been cheaters. Jefferson, FDR, probably Teddy Roosevelt. And some of our worst Presidents have been faithful. Carter, Nixon, Reagan, Bush.

Their marital fidelity shows NOTHING about how they will be as politicians. THAT portion of it is unimportant.

What MATTERS in this case (and Gingrich, and Larry Craig, and Mark Foley, and Eliot Spitzer, and in many other cases) is that they spend their WHOLE CAREERS railing against allowing you and I to live our lives the way that we want to, and the whole time they are doing what they are telling us that we cannot. The hypocrisy is why they are wrong, and why they should not be in office, not the immorality!

[wisewomcat]

HuffPost's Pick

It weakens your argument to attack the person (Baldwin). Carl Sagan - Common fallacies of logic and rhetoric - Ad hominem - attacking the arguer and not the argument.

Apparently, Alec Baldwin can never have an intelligent, or well reasoned thought for the rest of his life because of things he has done/said in his past. I hope I don't make any mistakes in my life...

As for Sanford's affair, I think that's his own business. Leaving his state without anyone knowing where he was -- that seems to be the only real issue to me -- but I don't live in his state, so I really don't have any say in the matter.

[slarabee]

Thank you. I posted a similar well reasoned argument but I guess that my condemnation of the Author for attacking Mr. Bladwin was to harsh so it was cut by moderation even though it was civil.

That s why I do not spend much time commenting here anymore.

Thanks again.

[Melanie226]

If it was just an extra marital affair that was the issue, then Mr. Baldwin's argument might be something to consider. However in this case, Mark Sanford skipped town for a week, and didn't tell anyone where he was including his security detail or his lieutenant governor. There is also speculation that he visited his mistress on the dime of the citizens of South Carolina, which is an abuse of power. Mark Sanford didn't just philander, he acted like a 17 year old boy in lust and wandered off without a thought in his head. Acceptable for a 17 year old, not for a grown man who has a major responsibility.

[RoloTomassi]

I'm sorry, but this article is advocating the very thing Americans indulge in and practice to the hilt when it comes to politics: hypocrisy.

While I have no use for Stanford, eventually a politician must stand up and try to regain relevance after such a fall if we are going to ever get past the absurd puritan influence that sits on the US populace like black noxious cloud; all the better if it is a GOPer that make such an accomplishment.

Judging political value by outdated, idiotic puritanical standards that are direct oppostion to reality is high folly, and should be discouraged until it vanishes from what we consider when judging politicians.