Summary Box: SC gov says he’s been unfaithful to his wife with friend from Argentina

Summary Box: SC gov admits affair, apologizes

AFFAIR APOLOGY: South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford apologized to his wife and four children at a press conference where he admitted taking a secret trip to Argentina to visit a woman with whom he’d been having an affair. He said the woman was a good friend for eight years but the romantic relationship started about a year ago.

MYSTERY TRIP: Sanford’s trip to Argentina came to light after reporters started asking questions about his whereabouts earlier this week. His staff had said he was hiking on the Appalachian Trail. He said Wednesday that’s what he told them.

TROUBLE FOR THE GOP?: Sanford said he’ll resign as head of the Republican Governors Association, and his admission came a day after prominent Republican Sen. John Ensign of Nevada apologized for an affair with a campaign staffer. GOP governors were once thought to be President Obama’s most credible adversaries, but that’s not turning out to be the case.