Gov. Sanford's Exotic Trip

Generally, I think it's none of our business if Sanford wants to ditch his family on Father's Day and disappear to an undisclosed location. If not for the bizarre cover story, and his failure to inform his office of his whereabouts should a crisis arise, this wouldn't have become a story. But since he's been touted as a presidential hopeful, I suppose odd behavior is of some consequence, and in any event S.C. Gov. Mark Sanford was greeted by the press when he returned from Buenos Aires, Argentina. Sanford said he was planning to hike the Appalachian Trail, but at the last minute decided to change his plans.

"But I said 'no' I wanted to do something exotic," Sanford said "... It's a great city."

He also said he has been to the city twice before, "most recently about a year and half ago during a Commerce Department trip." He says he "was alone on the trip" and declined to give any details on his "exotic" activities other than noting he enjoyed ride along the coastline.

Of course, the urge to speculate is strong. One can't fail to remember that "prostitution has been legal in Argentina since the beginning of republic." In fact, "currently Buenos Aires is one the world's premier sex trade destinations for both homosexual and heterosexual clients." And in an odd coincidence, on June 18th, this article on "Prostitute Plaza" appeared on the CBC.ca site.

According to the UN's International Organization for Migration, young women from the Dominican Republic began arriving to Argentina in unprecedented numbers in the 1990s. And they're still coming. [...]

Yet it's clear these young women and girls are being brought in to feed the prostitution trade. In a country of mostly fair skinned residents, they are considered exotic.

Just saying...

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