Now that he's confessed his affair with an Argentinian woman, Governor Mark Sanford of South Carolina needs to retrieve the old Confederate sword out of his closet . . .

And fall on it.

At least politically.

And while Sanford is falling on his political sword, he should ritualistically disembowel himself and hope he can be resurrected as a Fox commentator.

Oh yeah! Sanford should also resign as governor.

Sophia Nelson makes the argument that Sanford is a human being after all and that we humans are frail creatures who inevitably get off the straight and narrow path. What's more, few people in the media or politics haven't over-indulged in booze, used illegal drugs, or fallen off the monogamy wagon. Everyone should all understand that we too are fallen creatures, that people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones, and forgive Sanford for his transgressions.

Nothing against Nelson. Her HuffPost article makes the case well.

But I'm still not buying.

Mark Sanford should resign because he's a sanctimonious prig who was selling a lie that he was five times more righteous than even your average South Carolina Republican.

True, Sanford isn't as bad as Elliot Spitzer. Given that Spitzer was an uber self-righteous prick, everybody instantaneously agreed that he was just too disgusting to remain in office. "Get him out of our sight" was the consensus.

But Sanford still needs to resign.

The self-righteousness, the hypocrisy, the months of deceit with his wife, the lies he told about his disappearance, and the breach of faith with his staff and the people of South Carolina are all too much for Sanford to remain in office. He really needs to remove himself from the public scene and reflect on his path in life.

Maybe he should get back with his wife and sons. Maybe he should see if it's going to work with his Argentinian mistress. Who knows?

Maybe he could even get a real, i.e., non-political job.

I'm not saying that Mark Sanford shouldn't have a future in politics. But if he is going to have a role in public life, he needs to go back to the end of the line and once again earn the trust of people who have a full knowledge of his fall from grace.

That's the only thing that's fair to the people of South Carolina and the Republican Party. 

Otherwise, Sanford's just going to be one more GOP laughingstock at a time when it's really hard for anyone to take the Republican Party seriously.