To his credit - unlike a number of politicians who preceded him on the Infidelity Path - Sanford did not try to deny his affair when confronted with it (though he did keep it under wraps for at least a year). He also impressed me by not humiliating his wife further by having her stand dutifully by his side at his mea culpa press conference - ala Eliot Spitzer, Jim McGreevey, David Vitter, et al. Attention politicians with uncontrollable libidos: When you're caught, act like a man and stand before the public alone!

On the negative side, had I been Governor Sanford's advisor, I would have told him not to drone on and on about his relationship with "the other woman." Apologies, yes. Details about how innocently it all began, no.  For his sake, I hope he keeps further specifics to himself.

More than 20 years ago in Dallas, I recall having a related discussion with motivational speaker Zig Ziglar. Zig made the point that most extramarital affairs begin innocently. He said what men (and women) need to do is have the self-discipline not to get into situations where innocence has an opportunity to heat up.