Washington Work

The work day in Washington ended about 2:45 this afternoon, as reports circulated of South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford's press conference about his five-day disappearance with this Argentine mistress.  The telecommunications grid nearly crashed as everyone tried to outdo the other in responding to the news. Folks were busy preparing copy for 4:30 deadline of the late nite talk shows.

Here is a sampling of my inbox, but I welcome your own additions. This is indeed work for Our Man in Abiko.

He didn't want South Carolina to have a stimulus package, but he wanted his own package stimulated.

"Hiking the Appalachian Trail" has a whole new meaning....So does "driving on the coast of Argentina."

Who knew the Appalachian Trail ended in Argentina.

There is no direct flight from Columbia SC to __ Georgia -- but there is a connecting flight with a stop-over in Buenos Aires.

“Too bad,’’ Senator John Kerry said, “if a governor had to go missing it couldn’t have been the governor of Alaska. You know, Sarah Palin.’’

There are many, many more but I will post them later along with the Late Nite show jokes.

Later:

David Letterman's Top Ten Gov Mark Sanford Excuses

Conan O'Brien:   Mark Sanford revealed "he had an affair with a woman from Argentina. ... People were shocked because Republicans traditionally don't do well with Hispanic women."

David Letterman:   Mark Sanford was "in Argentina with another woman. And here's what I want to know: Why can't he be like our former governor and use a local escort service?"

Craig Ferguson:   Mark Sanford "admitted to having an affair in Argentina. Great, now we're outsourcing mistresses."

Craig Ferguson:   "The past couple of years there have been a whole bunch of scandals involving governors. ... You know things are bad when the most normal governor of the last decade was Jesse 'The Body' Ventura."

Still later:

Conan O'Brien:   "At a press conference yesterday, in case you don't know, South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford admitted to having a mistress from Argentina. ... Then there was an awkward moment as he waited for someone to give him a high five."

David Letterman:   Mahmoud Ahmadinejad "has declared himself the winner" of the Iranian presidential election, "and he came out at the victory party and he thanked...the 148 percent of the people who voted for him."

David Letterman:   Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, "during all those protests, is keeping a very low profile in Iran. His staff said he was hiking."

Jimmy Fallon:   "There's another new development in that Mark Sanford story. His wife, Jenny, kicked him out of their home when she heard about the affair. In response, Hillary Clinton said, 'Wait, you can do that?'"