[richlevy]

Wow, suddenly we have an interesting Republican and he's in a different state. If this guy really did ditch work to go hiking during the solstice on Naked Hiking Day, then he might be just what the party of stuck up ***holes needs to lighten up.

From here

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — After a political mystery — "Where in the World is South Carolina's Governor?" — Mark Sanford's aides said he was stunned by all the fuss over his five-day absence and would cut short a secretive hike along the Appalachian Trail.
State officials and even his wife said they had no idea where he went over Father's Day weekend, and not everyone is buying his explanation. His disappearance has left some in the Palmetto State wondering: Is this any way for a governor to act?
Sanford's spokesman said the governor was hiking to clear his head after the legislative session, during which he lost a key battle.
But critics of the two-term Republican — and there are many — wondered why it took nine hours after reporters started asking questions for the governor's staff to say what the state's chief executive was doing. Sanford was expected back in his office Wednesday, but his aides stopped answering questions about his trip, including where he was on the 2,175-mile trail, whether he was with security and if anyone else could confirm his whereabouts.

Did it have anything to do with Naked Hiking Day?

The story started to resemble a John Grisham novel. A southern conservative governor and very vocal critic of a popular liberal president eluded his security detail and completely disappeared with his last known whereabouts — before he (or someone) turned off his cell phones — somewhere outside of Atlanta.
Staff was silent. Some were talking about succession plans. The First Lady though said she wasn’t concerned. “He was writing something and wanted some space to get away from the kids,” she said.
But many wondered aloud how this traditional, family-loving, Republican governor of a southern state could miss Fathers Day. After all he’s got four children! Was something sinister in the air?
Then it took a Farrelly brothers screenplay type of twist. Sanford had not disappeared. According to his spokesman, he was hiking on the Appalachian Trail. Coincidentally, on Naked Hiking Day.
It’s a big tradition. Many hikers celebrate the summer solstice by hiking au naturel. It just so happened the solstice occurred on Fathers Day — one of the days Sanford was hiking.