Tearful apologies lose their oomph when it turns out the confession was less than complete.

Late Update: One of the liaisons included "what was to be a farewell meeting in New York chaperoned by a spiritual adviser soon after his wife found out about the affair." What does that kind of meeting look like exactly?

Later Update: Dude, please just stop digging:

South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford says he "crossed lines" with a handful of women other than his mistress -- but never had sex with them.

The governor says he "never crossed the ultimate line" with anyone but Maria Belen Chapur, the Argentine at the center of a scandal that has derailed Sanford's once-promising political career.

During an emotional interview at his Statehouse office with The Associated Press on Tuesday, Sanford said Chapur is his soul mate but he's trying to fall back in love with his wife.

Digging Ever Deeper Update: Just STOP!!!

"This was a whole lot more than a simple affair, this was a love story," Sanford said. "A forbidden one, a tragic one, but a love story at the end of the day."