Religious Wingnutty Factor Gets Wingnuttier.

The saga of lost-and-found South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford just keeps getting wingnuttier.

He's now back at work and, needing a powerful metaphor to gloss over his little escapade, he reaches for the Old Testament. Appropriate, you'd think, for a Republican who based his campaign on the GOP's obligatory fundamentalist religious Family Values©™ - right?

First Mrs Sanford, with the obligatory stand-by-your-man sound bite:

South Carolina first lady Jenny Sanford says she discovered her husband's affair in January when she found a letter to the governor from his mistress. Jenny Sanford told The Associated Press on Friday she told him to end the affair and was shocked this week when she found out he'd gone to Argentina to see his mistress. She says she believed Gov. Mark Sanford had gone somewhere to work on writing a book.

The scripted standard of a good, loyal political spouse response that's become a cliché.

Meanwhile, Sanford was back at work today, telling his state agency chiefs that he's sorry for keeping them in the dark when he went to see Argentina to see his mistress. The Republican on Friday held his typical public meeting with the agency chiefs, but started with apologies and likening his confession and future to the biblical plight of King David. Sanford says King David fell mightily but picked up the pieces and built from there.

The question remains though - will the Republicans require Sanford to fall on his sword? Or will it all get swept under the carpet, as it was for other GOP presidential candidates? I'm thinking that Sarah Palin will throw a spanner in their well-lubricated presidential electoral machine if the old boys try any of their old tricks.