Gary Johnson, former Republican governor of New Mexico, is considering a run for the presidency in 2012. He is the first politician at the executive level to advocate the legalization of marijuana and endorsed Ron Paul in '08. Personally, I always wanted to see both he and Sanford run for the senate. We need as many liberty-minded legislators as possible - Republican, Democrat, or (preferably) other - even if that means postponing capturing the presidency for a few terms. That is just my opinion.

"Traditional conservative values mean standing up for the family and for marriage." "When we have a morally bankrupt leadership, such values will be reflected through out society" i think a traditional conservative let's people be free. that's it. while i am against hurting the ones you love, i wont let this incident affect who i support. everyone has slip ups because no one is perfect. I also dont think cheating makes you morally bankrupt, there are far worse things that someone could do

What's the common wisdom on chances that RP will run again? 10% chance? 30%? 50%?

The man had an affair. Who cares? I don't. Sure, I wouldn't recommend a friend try and date him, but that has zero to do with his ability to govern.

Traditional conservative values mean standing up for the family and for marriage. Of course the government has no role in mandating proper morality, but conservative politicians ought to be the best role models in Washington. When we have a morally bankrupt leadership, such values will be reflected through out society. Family values are incredibly important and we need public officials who lead by example. The problem comes when public officials attempt to use the leviathan of the state to enforce these principles, often not even living up to them themselves. Ron Paul is the perfect example of what we need. At rallies/speeches/etc he never fails to mention his wife of 50 years and any family in attendance and is very proud of his legacy, but he also would never use the state to force proper morality on others.

These things happen, I agree with Anziano we all make mistakes. The only thing left afterwards is what you do with the lesson you learn from that mistake.

Gov. Sanford has not effectively ruined his career. He has a term to finish; he was elected by the people of South Carolina and come 2011, he cannot (by SC law run for a third term). This does not show Sanford's wickedness or his amorality; contrastingly, it shows that he is as human as you or I. As Christ says, "He who is without sin, cast the first stone."

While what he did wasn't right, I'm not sure what the big deal is here. Shouldn't his affair be an issue for he and his wife to handle? There have certainly been more serious scandals.

isnt this interesting that this came up around the time they want him to take the stimulus? i think its a scam personally or basically a try to politically neuter him nothing more .the msm loves to sell the dumb public crap like this meanwhile the real corruption goes on while you worry about if he did or didnt cheat on his wife

I like mark, I still do. I feel sorry for everyone involved, and it sucks that this happened. I would still vote for him, but you are right, he threw away his career.

Out with Sanford in with Gary Johnson. I became worried they would both run and split the Liberty vote. I think this totally rules out Sanford in running and wisely so. If you lie to your wife and family, you will definetly lie to me. Johnson is a better candidate in my mind anyway.

@Jeremy- indeed. Ron Paul began his talk today at Cato by saying that his wife warned him about going after the Fed years ago, but ultimately agreed that it was something that had to be done. His respect for and commitment to her is patently obvious; I fear he may be one of the few truly honorable men in elected office these days who know the value of such a commitment.

I'll never be able to look at the cover of the second YAL issue the same way again.

All I have to say is that I'm glad this happened now, rather than later. The liberty movement might have rallied behind Sanford (in 2012) only to find this body in his closet and it might have been too detrimental as we put resources behind someone that became unelectable due to a bad personal decision. It is, indeed, his own life and his family's issue above and beyond anything else, but I think we can all agree here that the media and the masses would have blackballed Sanford--there is really no way this man can win from here out, despite how tragic it may be. For those of you thinking about backing Sanford, it's time to abandon ship and redirect your focus if we expect to win. As has been said in this thread, Gary Johnson is looking more and more like a viable candidate. So thanks Sanford for getting this out of your system now, rather than during your presidential run. You may have not ruined your political career, but your presidential chances are so bloodshot right now that I do not believe the movement can rally behind you. It was your choice, you made it, that is fine; just don't expect me to donate to you my time, my resources, or my work.

Air your dirty laundry early.

While his acts are between him and his wife, the drive-by media has unfortunately ruined his credibility by making it a national "issue." To the millions who pay attention to sound blips and talking points alone, he is "that corrupt republican governor from Virginia, or something." We can only wait and see where it goes while continuing to educate others, one at a time, on the principles of liberty.

Can Dr. Paul start pushing his peers (the ones that are worth our time) to consider a run for the Presidency? I know a ton of conservatives who hold to our ideals, but support people like Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee, just because they need a little challenging in terms of education on candidates. We need to get these fellow conservatives on board for a promising candidate early this time - it seems like in the last campaign, Dr. Paul just got a late start on publicity (which ended up being a grass-roots effort). A lot of conservatives have changed their views on Ron Paul since the election, when many of them thought he was crazy.

I 'd like to find out how the paper in SC got a hold of the emails from his personal email address. Sounds like an invasion of privacy to me.

Its just terrible. He wont be running in 2012, thats for sure. Its a real setback for the liberty movement. I had such high hope for him, I was going to work on his campaign. He's a great statesman, not a good husband though. The media is having their way with him, labeling him as the typical religious zealot of the Religious Right. This couldnt be further from the truth. Well, Sanford is out. Lets be real folks, Ron Paul is not going to run in 2012. He'll be 76! You thought the media made McCain look bad, they'll throw Ron to the wolves. I also think he doesnt have it in him to run again. If Gary Johnson is serious, I'll get behind him. There arent a lot of "liberty Republicans" with enough notoriety to make a presidential run in 2012, at least not yet.

Dammit. This guy wasn't my favorite, but he said good things about Libertarians and, in a way, acted as a bridge between the ridiculous ultra-religious nutter Republicans and the Libertarians. May as well wave a white flag to liberalism now. Hello, CCTV...