the buzz log

A few weeks ago, most people would have been hard-pressed to name the governor of South Carolina, much less his Argentinean girlfriend. But Mark Sanford, who found himself in the unwanted glare of the media spotlight after sneaking away to a love tryst with his mistress in South America, adds his name to the growing list of Republicans and Democrats whose careers have stalled out over a sex scandal.

While Sanford has apologized and promised to repay taxpayer money on a trip when he visited his lover, that just doesn't cut it for some. A growing online movement is calling for the guv to get out. The website Sanfordmustgo.com asks supporters of the cause to sign an online petition calling for the governor to resign. The once rising-star of the Republican Party appears to be determined to stay put. If other sex scandals are a guide, the record is mixed.

Former Sen. Larry Craig got caught in an airport sex sting, allegedly playing footsy in the men's bathroom in the Minneapolis airport. Unbowed, the Idaho Republican said he was not gay or guilty and did not abandon his seat. Not that Republicans are the only ones to own the scandal sheet. New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer admitted to being involved with a prostitution ring and resigned his position. And New Jersey governor James McGreevey admitted an affair with a man and stepped down from office. Whether the South Carolina governor stays or goes, one thing is for sure: It will be painful and public.