Jenny Taken For Ride

NYT just posted first review of memoir by Gov. Mark Sanford's wife, Jenny, which had been embargoed. Janet Maslin writes:

That Ms. Sanford and her support squad could laugh together (and make “hiking the Appalachian Trail” jokes, referring to the most famous whopper associated with the governor’s furtive trip to Argentina) says a lot about her ability to weather a crisis. Governor Sanford’s first move after the news conference says a lot about his. As “Staying True” reports, he was on the phone to his wife as soon as the cameras were off, and he had quite a question for her: “How’d I do?”

In the weird bubble inhabited by infantilized politicians — a place that is becoming more and more familiar as their partners’ and co-conspirators’ memoirs come down the pike — this was not even an unreasonable question. Mark Sanford had relied on his wife of 20 years for professional and moral support, even if his reasons for recruiting her services were not always the most noble. “But you’re free,” he once pointed out, explaining why she should run his first Congressional campaign. He wasn’t referring to her uncluttered schedule.