The eight House Republicans who voted FOR the Waxman-Markey climate change bill:

Mary Bono (CA)
Mike Castle (DE)
Mark Kirk (IL)
Leonard Lance (NJ)
Frank LoBiondo (NJ)
John McHugh (NY)
David Reichert (WA)
Chris Smith (NJ)

CQ takes a closer look and points out that all of those Republicans, except Smith, hail from districts that went for Obama over McCain. The bill passed 219-212.

Late Update: On the flip side (from The Hill):

One Democrat was upset that his leaders would needlessly force vulnerable Dems to vote for a bill that will come back to haunt them. Mississippi Rep. Gene Taylor (D) voted against the measure that he says will die in the Senate.

"A lot of people walked the plank on a bill that will never become law," Taylor told The Hill after the gavel came down.

Taylor knows the score as well as anyone. Since 2006, when Democrats took control of Congress, the Senate has been the La Brea Tar Pits of progressive legislation passed by House Dems.

House Democrats really pulled out all the stops to pass the energy bill. That and other political news in today's TPMDC Saturday Roundup.

Yesterday in 100 Seconds: Remembering Michael

We noted the paradoxical and continuing GOP dominance in sex and morals scandals in recent years, not withstanding valiant attempts on the part of the Dems to get in the game (Spitzer, Edwards, et al.). We already brought you the GOP sex scandal flow chart. But if you're more visual in inclination we've now prepared this official TPM GOP Sex Scandal Slideshow. Who are we missing?

Late Update: Admittedly there are a lot of GOP hounds who didn't make it on our list. And you've been writing in suggesting various candidates. But there are some basic criteria we followed in assembling the list to keep some limit on all the possible examples. We decided not to go back before the beginning of the Bush presidency in 2001 (so Newt Gingrich doesn't count, at least not for anything he's been caught for yet) and, with a couple extreme exceptions (read: state Sen. Bob Allen of Florida) to keep it to federal officeholders and governors. So far the one suggestion I've seen that I think we probably should have added is former Rep. John Sweeney (R-NY).

We'll do more formal job announcements next week. But for our regular readers and for those who might be interested in joining our team, I wanted to let you know that we're going to be adding eight new editorial positions to our staff. Most of those slots will be new reporter-bloggers in New York and Washington. But there will also be new junior editorial positions.

We plan to hire for six of those positions this summer. And then two more in early fall. Together, that will more than double the size of our editorial staff.

When the first sentence of the article reads like this, you know it's gonna be good.

A former mayor found sitting naked and holding a beer at a Rabun County campsite told police he wasn't the same naked man seen walking around earlier.

Thanks to TPM Reader JB for the heads up.

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) says the climate bill vote was a choice between liberty and tyranny.

From the Las Vegas Review Journal ...

Gov. Jim Gibbons's phone records will be handed over to the woman who accused him of assault in the run-up to the 2006 gubernatorial election, a federal magistrate ruled this week.

...

Mazzeo is suing Gibbons, former Clark County Sheriff Bill Young and others in federal court. She claims her rights to due process were violated when Gibbons allegedly attacked her. She also claims Gibbons and others orchestrated a cover-up in connection with the incident.

Thanks to TPM Reader SB for the tip-off.

Gov. Mark Sanford apologized to just about everyone in his emotional press conference on Friday. Now, TPM Reader Blogger Rootman asks: when do Appalachian Trail hikers get their apology?

House narrowly passes climate change bill.

I don't know anyone who wanted to close the detention facility at Gitmo because of where it was -- but rather because of what it was. It's not merely a symbol, but is the embodiment of the implementation of a bad policy. If you close Gitmo but carry on the same bad policy elsewhere, you're playing a shell game, Mr. President.

Rep. John Boehner will delay this evening's expected House vote on climate change legislation by reading the entire text of the Waxman-Markey bill on the House floor.

Russia's oil and gas behemoth Gazprom and Nigeria's state-owned energy outfit have announced a new joint venture that they've given a most unfortunate name.

Full-size video at TPMtv.com.

If you want to pander to your corporate constituencies by going around calling global warming a hoax, you're within your right to do so. But shouldn't those who deride the science of climate change and the manmade contributions to it be made to put more than just their own reputations on the line?

This isn't a hoax like the Loch Ness monster or Bigfoot. At some point 50 or 100 years down the road -- maybe much sooner, I'm afraid -- the science and mechanics of climate change and human-generated carbon's role in it are going to be proved or disproved, demonstrated or not. And what are those folks who have been in denial the whole time going to do? Shrug their shoulders and say oops? My bad?

Read more »

Like just about everyone else, I'm twittering now. So if you'd like to read even more of my random thoughts, links to what I think are our best pieces and the occasional heads-up when we're about to break a big story, you can follow me here.

Freshman Sen. Kay Hagan's opposition to public option provoking ire of MoveOn.

From his press appearance just a few moments ago: David didn't resign (after that whole Bathsheba incident), why should I?

Rep. Michele Bachmann, on the census: "Do they really need to know, like you said, the date and time that we leave mental stability?"

I suppose everyone was surprised, even stunned yesterday afternoon to hear the news of Michael Jackson's death, a terribly sad moment for his family, friends and fans. Like the rest of you I've seen a lot of famous people die and even a lot of young famous people die unexpectedly. But for some reason, yesterday in our newsroom, as we tried to follow and figure out what was happening and confirm Jackson's death, I found myself more shocked than I usually am by these things.

Not sadder or more upset. I don't think I really felt either of these things more than I have seeing other relatively young people die or seeing their family's and loved ones' grief. And please let me say clearly that is not meant with any disrespect. While I liked Jackson's music and had great respect for his talent, I just didn't have a strong emotional connection to him.

So, not sadder or more upset, but more shocked. And I was thinking last night, what feels different about this?

Read more »

Dan Froomkin's last column for the Washington Post.

Rep. John Conyers' wife, Monica, a member of the Detroit City Council pleaded guilty this morning to a federal criminal charge of conspiring to commit bribery.

Climate change bill hangs in the balance. That and the day's other political news in the TPMDC Morning Roundup.

Yesterday in 100 Seconds: An Invasion of Our Privacy

Bob Reich explains.

Sen. Rockefeller (D-WV) ...

On Thursday, Rockefeller admitted he expects little bipartisan support.

"There is a very small chance any Republicans will vote for this health-care plan. They were against Medicare and Medicaid [created in the 1960s]. They voted against children's health insurance.

"We have a moral choice. This is a classic case of the good guys versus the bad guys. I know it is not political for me to say that," Rockefeller added.

"But do you want to be non-partisan and get nothing? Or do you want to be partisan and end up with a good health- care plan? That is the choice."

Full-size video at TPMtv.com.

Club for Growth is asking the FEC to sign off on a mass mailing to donors to Arlen Specter's campaign who contributed before Specter's party switch, urging them to ask for their money back, TPMDC reports.

From the weekly promo email I get from Human Events magazine ...

Addressing a rally in DC this afternoon, Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA) came out in favor of a public option provision for health care reform -- reversing his previous opposition. Brian Beutler was there.

At what point in this saga did Mark Sanford realize he was going to have to more or less 'fess up? Zack Roth breaks down the series of events that swiftly unfolded in the hours before that memorable press conference confession.

Rush Limbaugh defends Mark Sanford as just a guy fed up with "the country's going to Hell in a handbasket" under Obama who fled the country "to enjoy life."

If nothing else, we've learned over recent years that temptations of the flesh cut clean across the ideological and partisan divides. Indeed, in the past for all parties, the lurid sex scandal moment was usually a key point signaling the imminent fall of a long-entrenched political party. Think of the death of Tory MP Stephen Milligan who was found, dressed in woman's clothes, dead from auto-erotic self-asphyxiation in 1994. And yet boffo Republican sex scandals keep coming fast and furious, even years after the party's political collapse began in earnest in 2006.

That's not to say that some high profile Dems haven't been found Hiking the Appalachian Trail in recent years. John Edwards and Eliot Spitzer come immediately to mind.

But there's just no denying that in the sex scandal derby Republicans are leaving Dems in the dust. Let's run through the recent list -- Foley, Craig, Vitter, Ensign, Sanford, Gibbons, Fossella, just to hit a few of the highlights. Who'm I missing?

What's weird, again, is that the scandals, and not just the sex scandals or other hypocrisy-tinged scandals, but more importantly corruption have kept coming almost unabated for going on three years since Republicans were tossed out of power. Perhaps sex knoweth not majority status. But at least for scandals in general the normal model is that you get this stuff out of your party's system in the final years of power, then sort of go a bit more low-key and leave it to the majority party to get arrogant, corpulent and crooked and start rolling out their own scandals.

Those are the rules after all. At least they used to be. (Another aspect of this is that a wave election usually brings in a handful of insufficiently-vetted freaks who flame out in pretty short order. But the Dems haven't had much of that beside the guy down in Florida who replaced Foley.) Seeing the headlines you might think we were in the 'last days' phase of GOP hegemony. Only that was three and a half years ago.

I'm not sure if it's an example of just how deep the rot ran or simply another sign that Republicans just don't think the rules -- of appropriate scandal timing, that is -- apply to them.

A web address that may be up for sale.

Obama has a real political problem, Politico reports: He's too perfect, and it's annoying Republicans.

Grover Norquist, on the Sanford meltdown: "It does indicate that men who oppose federal spending at the local level are irresistible to women."

What stands out about yesterday's press conference was how raw and unrehearsed it was. Sure, parts of it were self-serving; other parts were less than fully honest. But I was especially struck by how Sanford didn't fall back on the wife as madonna/mistress as whore trope. TPM Reader VL noticed the same thing:

I love what the governor did yesterday. He is the first public man to go out there and talk about his feelings in a way that respects both women. Most men, when they do get around to admitting their affairs, talk about their mistresses as some kind of vixen temptress who caught them up in their evil snare, and the man then fell from grace. The woman is merely a mistake, a bad judgement. Never do they admit feelings, or speak in a feeling or responsible way about the other person. Governor Sanford talked about both women with love and did not attempt to deny his feelings, which is such a habit of men when they decide to move on. It takes much more caring and courage and humanity to do what Governor Sanford did yesterday.

I offer that not as an excuse or an apologia. It's just to point out that there is something different about this episode than so many of the others that have popped up in recent years. My immediate reaction is usually: misogynist. That may still be true here, but it was less obvious.

Late Update: A lot of readers taking issue with this read on Sanford's presser. TPM Reader LR is one example:

Sanford spoke in a way that "respects both women"?! Are you kidding? I cannot imagine that his press conference left his wife feeling respected. Indeed, if he respected her -- or the woman with whom he had (is having?) an affair -- he wouldn't have gone into all that crazy, meandering detail. Whatever happened to discretion? The whole presser was self-serving and self-indulgent. Apparently Sanford has only two settings: deception (I'm in the Appalachians!) or reality-tv-style confession. What he's put his wife and children through is no less despicable because of the emotionalism he put on display yesterday.

Instead of shooting the dais during a congressional hearing on health care reform, NPR's photographer, in a very clever move, shot the audience. And now NPR is asking for help identifying the lobbyists and other players in attendance. Very smart.

RedState was not the only outlet to gobble up the cover stories coming from Mark Sanford's staff during his mysterious disappearance. Many far more mainstream news organizations bit, too. Zack Roth rounds up some of the most credulous headlines and reports.

The latest from our fave Minnesota congresscritter came in an appearance on Fox this morning where Rep. Michele Bachmann raised the specter of Japanese-American internment camps during WWII as reason not to fill out your census form.

Having trouble following the recent Republican scandals? A TPM reader has put together a clever flow chart to help you keep track.

Did top political appointees in the Bush Justice Department leak about an investigation of then-Rep. Rick Renzi (R-AZ) to swing the 2006 election in Renzi's favor and blow up a wiretap on Renzi in the process? Murray Waas reports.

From the Washington Times ...

Extramarital affairs, gambling, alcohol abuse, prostitution and sexual pursuit of minors have taken a toll on the GOP.

Suzanne Maloney: "The fact is, no matter how much Americans like to think they are the ones shaping events in Iran, it's just not true."

White House rescinds invitations to Iranian diplomats for July 4 celebrations at U.S. embassies around the world. That and the day's other political news in the TPMDC Morning Roundup.

Yesterday in 100 Seconds: Odyssey of the Heart

While we were fixated for most of Wednesday with the Mark Sanford saga, there was some other news that bears watching. The candidacy of Marco Rubio, the staunch conservative candidate challenging the very popular and fairly moderate Charlie Crist for the GOP senate nomination in Florida seems to be coalescing as a key proxy battle between the conservative dead-ender wing of the GOP and the party moderates.

There are a number of these races around the country this year and next. The recently conclude Christie-Lonegan primary race in New Jersey was an example. But Rubio is getting A-list endorsements. Last week Sen. DeMint (R-SC) endorsed him. And now Mike Huckabee is endorsing him too. I'm curious to see whether endorsements in this race will become a litmus test for those who want to prove their unquestioned conservative bona fides.

Fellow South Carolina Republican Bob Inglis says Sanford's fall may be chance for the GOP to "lose the stinking rot of self-righteousness."

Earlier today I flagged a RedState post by Erick Erickson as one of the more egregious examples of a media outlet credulously swallowing the Sanford cover stories. Erickson is back with a follow-up post in light of today's revelations. It's titled the "The Real Lessons of Mark Sanford's 'Hike.'"

Late Update: TPM Reader BB's exegesis of the latest Erickson post:

I love ... the method in which social conservatives distance themselves from wrongdoers. Instead of putting together a cogent analysis of a immoral politician's positions and contending that said politician did little to champion the cause of social conservatism, they merely say that since the politician acted poorly, then he must not have been a true social conservative. It's a very common logical fallacy in these situations.

Moreover, I love Erickson's insinuation that Sanford doesn't attend a bible study, when in fact Sanford professed his Christian faith repeatedly in the press conference and even discussed his affiliation with the C Street Foundation, a Congressional Christian bible study.

Erickson's ability to retroactively select his allies is rather impressive.

Here's another indication of just how tough the news environment is for traditional newspapers: If you read only the print edition of the New York Times, you would still not know anything about the Mark Sanford saga, according to my search of the paper's archives.* Yet, right now it's the lead story on the paper's website, and has been, for better or worse, the dominant news story this week since The State first broke news late Monday afternoon that the governor was missing. Presumably, The Times will have a story in tomorrow's print edition, by which time the story will have bubbled, built, arced, and be on its way to fading out. That's not a criticism per se of The Times' news judgment. By the old standards, the story was arguably too undeveloped to warrant inclusion in The Times. But it points up the difficulty of keeping an old-line newspaper relevant to its better-informed readers.

*Correction: Several readers have emailed to say that in fact posts from the Times blog "The Caucus" did appear as items in the print edition. My error.

... very private, personal emails between Sanford and a woman in Buenos Aires named Maria.

The State newspaper in Columbia, S.C., has owned the Mark Sanford story, which is as it should be for a state capitol newspaper, but that's not always how it works out. The paper tells TPMDC that online traffic for the paper's website has tripled.

Full-size video at TPMtv.com.

Trying to think how many pols have gotten caught Hiking the Appalachian Trail since the 2006 mid-terms.

Gov. Sanford's wife apparently just put out a statement saying she asked him to leave two weeks ago.

You can read the whole statement here.

Here's the key passage ...

I believe wholeheartedly in the sanctity, dignity and importance of the institution of marriage. I believe that has been consistently reflected in my actions. When I found out about my husband's infidelity I worked immediately to first seek reconciliation through forgiveness, and then to work diligently to repair our marriage.

We reached a point where I felt it was important to look my sons in the eyes and maintain my dignity, self-respect, and my basic sense of right and wrong. I therefore asked my husband to leave two weeks ago.

This trial separation was agreed to with the goal of ultimately strengthening our marriage. During this short separation it was agreed that Mark would not contact us. I kept this separation quiet out of respect of his public office and reputation, and in hopes of keeping our children from just this type of public exposure.

Because of this separation, I did not know where he was in the past week.

I believe enduring love is primarily a commitment and an act of will, and for a marriage to be successful, that commitment must be reciprocal. I believe Mark has earned a chance to resurrect our marriage.

Reich: Why the critics of the public option are wrong.

I agree with Josh that Mark Sanford deserves some credit for partly coming clean in the end. But while I'm finally willing, for the first time this week, to believe the "official" story coming out of South Carolina, I don't think we have the whole story yet. Zack Roth runs down some of the unanswered questions and lingering contradictions.

Late Update: In a statement issued after the press conference, Sanford basically cops to lying to his staff.

Commenter on Buenos Aires news website (translated by TPM's crack bilingual intern staff):

its crazy that those people in the USA have to go out to ask for forgiveness...here in argentina they are almost idols. mark, come to Baires because you are going to have it easy.

(Thanks to TPM Reader TC for flagging.)

Video of Mark Sanford's press conference this afternoon.

Tough week for Capitol Hill the C Street group, the bible fellowship and group house that both Gov. Sanford and Sen. Ensign belong to.

Gov. Sanford explains how his affair with the mystery woman from Argentina began.

Just in time, Fox News turns Gov. Sanford into a Democrat.

National Review's Rich Lowry ...

First Ensign, then the "Crying in Argentina" press conference. If Republicans want a presidential candidate who lives clean and whose family hasn't been involved in tabloid scandals, it might soon be Mitt Romney by process of elimination.

Well, I'd say that that presser definitely answered a lot of questions. In fact, while Sanford probably saw the end of his political career today and obviously deceived a lot of people -- and just acted profoundly irresponsibly with respect to his job as governor, let alone with respect to his wife and family, which is his own business -- I can't not give the guy some real credit. Unless there's a lot more we don't know, and it's hard to imagine what more there could be, he just came up there and leveled with his constituents. I'm not sure he had much choice. But that sounded pretty frank and total.

It's not a matter of ignoring or papering anything over. But it's worth remembering whoever it was who said that none of us deserve to be known or remembered only for our worst moments.

2:34 PM ... Questions begin ...

2:34 PM ... In response to a question, Sanford says that his family knew of his affair prior to the trip imbroglio and that he and his wife have been working through their issues for some five months. Says the relationship ("whole sparking thing") began about a year ago.

2:38 PM ... In what I can only call a very human discussion, Sanford is explaining that he went to Argentina on this trip was essentially to break off or end the relationship with the woman in Argentina and that he's committed to trying to reconcile with his wife.

2:26 PM ... Still listing through apologies. Looks like he's in full let it all hang out mode, put all the cards on the table mode ... Lot of apologies. He may just try to keep finding people to apologize to for so long that everybody gets bored and leaves and he never has to say what he's apologizing for.

2:28 PM ... This is genuinely painful, sad ... moving on to discussion of "God's laws".

2:30 PM ... "I've been unfaithful to my wife" ... "with a dear dear friend from Argentina."

2:33 PM ... Resigning as head of Republican Governors Association.

2:15 PM ... Takes some of the impact out of the press conference when they delay it for a half hour.

2:22 PM ... And here we go ... Sanford live.

2:23 PM ... Starts with discussion of his love of the Appalachian Trail. This ain't pretty. Does he know it's become a euphemism now? Now he's talking about his history of "adventure trips".

2:24 PM ... If you're not watching, this dude sounds very nervous and sort of shaken.

2:25 PM ... Looks like we're looking at an apology. Apologizes to family.

Gov. Sanford's press conference is -- allegedly -- starting at 2 PM. We'll be live blogging it and bringing you video clips.

And as a special bonus, while you're waiting, you know it's pretty bad for a GOPer when even GOP 'strategist' Ron Christie won't defend you on MSNBC. Take a look.

Late Update: We've gotten unconfirmed word that the press conference may be pushed back to 2:30 PM. Can't say I'm exactly shocked.

Gina Smith, the reporter from The State newspaper, who staked out and caught Gov. Sanford at the Atlanta airport this morning getting off the plane from Buenos Aires is on MSNBC right now being interviewed -- pretty entertainingly -- by Andrea Mitchell.

Here's the video.

Erick Erickson, writing yesterday at RedState:

First, we need to be clear on the facts -- not the media speculation:

-- Sanford did tell his staff and family where he was going.
-- Because he was traveling without a security detail, it was in his best interests that no one knew he was gone.
-- His political enemies -- Republicans at that -- ginned up the media story.
-- When confronted by a pestering media, things went downhill.
-- Again though, at all times there was no doubt that Sanford's staff and family knew where he was.

(Thanks to TPM Reader DK for the tip.)

We're getting some word from down in South Carolina that Gov. Sanford may not have been alone down there in Buenos Aires. Something may be ready to bubble to the surface.

Surprising number of TPM readers with experience in Buenos Aires. Here's MT:

I'm an American citizen originally from Argentina and I go back to Buenos Aires all the time. I have two things to say about Sanford's excuse that make me think it's total BS.

First, I want to point out an even simpler reason why Sanford probably didn't "drive up the coastline": driving in Buenos Aires is a nightmare. It's about 2 steps better than driving in Cairo. People don't follow traffic signs, they drive recklessly, they cram up tiny streets with multiple cars. When I visit I'm TERRIFIED to drive down there, and I live in Los Angeles, the driving capital of the US! I can only imagine what a driver from South Carolina (who probably doesn't do most of his own driving) would experience. Sanford is trying to sell us on the idea of him cruising down an empty freeway, Buenos Aires on one side and the majestic (read: brown and gross) Rio de la Plata on the other. I'm imagining him stuck in a traffic jam on Av. Libertador, cramped in a tiny Peugeot and afraid for his life while taxi drivers yell at him to get out of the way.

Second, like Mexico, kidnapping is a huge problem in BA. People who look like they might be rich and important are targeted and held for ransom. A US governor would be CRAZY to run around BA without notifying the embassy or looking into at least a basic security option. With his American clothes and accent he would stick out like a sore thumb. If he did go down there by himself without notifying the embassy he's a completely reckless idiot.

I'm as big a fan as anyone of out-of-the-way, off-the-beaten-path places, but the "driving the Buenos Aires coastline" story Mark Sanford gave a reporter upon disembarking in Atlanta is sounding odder by the minute.

Here's TPM reader BC:

As someone who has been to Buenos Aires many times, just returned from BA and is in the process of moving there later this year, I can tell you unequivocally that someone who goes to Buenos Aires to 'see the coastline' is akin to someone going to New York City or Boston to see the Atlantic Ocean. As for getting away to clear his head, the greater Buenos Aires area is home to 30% of Argentina's 40 million people. While Sanford is trying to paint a picture of a peaceful drive along a beautiful coast, in fact he was crammed into a land-locked city* of 15 million people. Worst excuse ever.

Meanwhile, our Spanish-speaking interns here at TPM tell me this is reportedly the coldest day of the year in Buenos Aires. Again, I love the beach in winter, but ...

*Technically, Buenos Aires isn't "landlocked." It's at the mouth of the Río de la Plata, but as AP reports, it has about two miles of coastline.

Gov. Sanford's (R-SC) staff, wife and even Sanford himself apparently ran through a series of evolving and often completely contradictory explanations about where he was and what he was doing. First, he wasn't missing, then he was taking some time away from the kids to do something writing (yeah, that one was a doozy), then he was hiking the Appalachian Trail, then his staff was in touch with him and then he weren't, now he was in Argentina. And those are only the big developments. We've put together an official TPM Gov. Sanford Bogus Story Timeline giving you the step by step guide to Sanford's staffs valiant but ultimately vain efforts to come up with a cover story that would hold up for more than a few hours.

TPM Reader BC ...

On the BA 'coastline': As someone who has been to Buenos Aires many times, just returned from BA and is in the process of moving there later this year, I can tell you unequivocally that someone who goes to Buenos Aires to 'see the coastline' is akin to someone going to New York City or Boston to see the Atlantic Ocean. As for getting away to clear his head, the greater Buenos Aires area is home to 30% of Argentina's 40 million people. While Sanford is trying to paint a picture of a peaceful drive along a beautiful coast, in fact he was crammed into a land-locked city of 15 million people. Worst excuse ever.

From ABC's The Note:

ABC's Joe Goldman reports that a US embassy official in Buenos Aires tells him that the embassy had "absolutely no idea" that Sanford was in Argentina. The embassy official added that this comes "from out of left field -- it would be extremely odd that a US governor would not check in with the embassy."

Late Update: On the other hand, a State Department spokesperson tells The Plum Line that a governor would not notify the department or embassies if he were going abroad.

Mark Sanford is currently the chairman of the Republican Governors Association, whose Facebook page is "The GOP Comeback," complete with photos of Sanford and Sarah Palin.

(Thanks to TPM Reader AW for flagging.)

Theda Skocpol says Dems and Obama are facing a moment of truth on health care. Right now.

What was Mark Sanford really doing in Buenos Aires: stalking Nazi war criminals? searching for Obama's birth certificate?

Readers offering their ideas at our Exotic Argentine Open Thread.

CNN's Peter Hamby just twittered that Sanford will be holding a presser at 2 pm.

The AP showing some skepticism:

Sanford told The State he was alone on the trip to Argentina. He declined to give any additional details about what he did other than to say he drove along the coastline.

Trying to make such a drive could frustrate a weekend visitor to Argentina. In Buenos Aires, the Avenida Costanera is the only coastal road, and it's less than two miles long. Reaching coastal resorts to the south requires a drive of nearly four hours on an inland highway with views of endless cattle ranches. To the north is a river delta of islands reached only by boat.

TPM Reader GK concurs:

Know that the "coastline" in BA is completely featureless and incredibly boring -- it's on a slow-moving, broad river. When residents of BA "go to the beach" they drive many hours away to Mar del Plata, which is on the Atlantic coast (or they hop on a boat to Montevideo, Uruguay.) But right now it's in the low 50's during the day and the mid 30's at night on the coast.

South Carolina state Sen. Jake Knotts (R): "Cover-up, cover-up. Lies, lies, lies."

Those 'mystery solved' headlines from Monday evening are looking pretty prescient, right?

Between his own earlier references to his love of solitude and to the flight time to Buenos Aires, of course we should have figured out that Mark Sanford was headed to the Argentina capital.

Mark Sanford's wife must be relieved to know where her husband is now -- probably not so happy to learn he was out of the country for a week without telling her.

"I wanted to do something exotic."

Quote from Gov. Mark Sanford when asked why he'd been in Argentina after being caught by a reporter from The State getting off a plane from Buenos Aires.

Fox just did a live interview with Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) and not a single question for the senator about his AWOL governor.

Just so we're clear, Gov. Sanford and his staff didn't announce that he had been in Argentina for the week. A reporter from The State newspaper got a tip that Sanford would be arriving on a flight into Atlanta this morning from Argentina and basically caught him. Once the reporter saw him coming off a plane from the antipodes he really didn't have much choice but to admit where he'd been.

TPM Reader BA, commenting on our feature photo to the right there:

The picture of Argentina misrepresents the time of year.

Remember it is winter there - today's high is only 51 degrees!

We'll try to find a more seasonally appropriate picture to signify the governor's wintertime jaunt in the Southern Hemisphere.

The 2010 Florida Senate GOP primary is shaping up as a battle for the heart and soul of the party. That and the day's other political news in the TPMDC Morning Roundup.

Sanford resurfaces with a new story. He was in Argentina.

Now at least it seems clear he's actually surfaced, not just 'surfaced' in the sense of his staff snowing reporters into saying he returned. A reporter from The State newspaper actually got a few moments with him before Sanford was "escorted away by an aide" at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta.

Yesterday in 100 Seconds: Answering the Iran Critics

CNN reports that the state security Chevy Suburban that Gov. Mark Sanford drove off in last Thursday has turned up. At the airport. But not Hartsfield-Jackson Airport in Atlanta, where Sanford had reportedly been seen. They found it at Columbia Metropolitan Airport, the airport in the state capital.

Is Prime Minister Netanyahu telling supporters he made Obama blink on settlements?

Feinstein responds to critics on health care.

Full-size video at TPMtv.com.

Could 'hiking the Appalachian Trail' become a new metaphor in politics?

Local TV station in South Carolina reports that a federal agent spotted Gov. Sanford boarding a plane in Atlanta, and though the report is not clear on when the sighting occurred, the implication is it was about the time Sanford went missing last week. The station also reports that a missing state vehicle, presumably the one the governor was using, was "tracked down" at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. WYFF is the NBC affiliate in Greenville, S.C.

Zack Roth has more.

How much do national Republicans want to keep blocking Al Franken from being sworn in as the senate's 60th Democratic senator?

The national GOP has pumped almost $1 million into Norm Coleman's 'campaign' in just the last month.

Our Ben Craw captures the tone and tenor of President Obama's press conference this afternoon in this highlight reel. As I said before, it gets a bit testy at times.

TPM Reader DF salutes an innovator ...

I've been thinking about it, and I believe Sanford may be the first politician to use the "I'm leaving to spend some time AWAY FROM my family" excuse. Most of them go with the far less credible with-the-family thing. So give the man his due, please, for he is a pioneer.

I just stopped by our TPM page on Facebook. And Andrew Golis just posted that today apparently TPM (i.e., this front page blog -- not Muckraker or DC) just posted its 25,000th post. Apparently an average of about 8 posts per day for eight and a half years. Sheesh. That's a lot of posts.

Gov. Haley Barbour (R-MS) seems to think he may be running for president in 2012.

Gov. Sanford's staff claims that he called them this morning and told them he'd be back at work tomorrow. But his wife just told reporters that she has still not heard anything from him since last Thursday. "I am being a mom today. I have not heard from my husband. I am taking care of my children."

Any interest in laying down odds on whether we see Mark Sanford tomorrow morning?

Dems pile on Dianne Feinstein for saying the future of health care reform may be in doubt. And President Obama stays mum on whether a 'public option' is non-negotiable as a part of the health care reform bill moving through Congress.

TPM Reader SP is spot on:

Whatever Sanford has actually been doing, he's just made "hiking the Appalachian Trail" a euphemism for mysterious disappearances as a result of illicit activities.

Come home after a weekend blackout bender? Hey, honey, I was just hiking the Appalachian Trail.

Boss wants to know why you were out of the office for two hours while screwing a co-worker at a nearby hotel? Just a quick hike on the Appalachian Trail.

Not that we know what Sanford was really doing, but ...

I assume military recruiting offices in the D.C. area are crowded with neocons and members of the Washington press corps clamoring to enlist so they can liberate Iran. Right?

Gov. Sanford (R-SC) up on the Appalachian Trail looking for some trace of his future prospects as a presidential candidate.

An animated and testy President Obama during this presser. Partly a function, I think, of him pushing back hard on two media/GOP narratives: one, that he's not been strong enough on Iran so that his recent harsher rhetoric amounts to a shift in his position; and, two, that a public option health care plan would put insurance companies out of business.

Will be interested to see if his rejection of those narratives, and particularly his dismissiveness of reporters who perpetuated them, has the desired effect of shifting the narrative.

More broadly, Obama knocked around reporters for some of the gotcha questions, especially on Iran, telling NBC's Chuck Todd that while the press is on a 24-hour news cycle, "I'm not."

The new Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) comic book has been released -- it's a series. And our in-house Michele Bachmann (and also comic book) aficionado Eric Kleefeld has the official TPM review.

TPMDC's congressional correspondent Brian Beutler is back from vacation. And we're digging in for in-depth, scoop by scoop, nugget by nugget coverage of the progress of health care reform legislation on Capitol Hill. Clearly, we're in the thick of the battle right now with decisions and positionings being made that will determine what sort of bill or whether even any bill emerges later this year. It's one big chess board, with lots of moving pieces, each move opening or closing future possibilities. Brian's working the phones, scanning the wires. But we'll need your help too. If you see news stories that have key developments, send them in. We may not have seen them yet. If you're up on the Hill and get wind of some new development, ping us too. And from the various pressure groups on the outside, left and right, let us know what you're seeing.

State Sen. Jake Knotts (R-SC), a critic of Gov. Sanford, who was the first to blow the whistle yesterday on his apparent disappearance. He's raising a series of questions about the Appalachian Trail story.

From Roll Call ...

Sen. John Ensign (Nev.) is expected to address his GOP colleagues at their weekly luncheon today to try to turn the page on the high-profile sex scandal that has derailed his rising political career.

While no one knows exactly what Ensign will say to his fellow Senators, the move is becoming an increasingly familiar one for embattled Republicans. Sen. David Vitter (La.) and former Sens. Ted Stevens (Alaska) and Larry Craig (Idaho), while facing scandals of their own, went before the Conference to discuss their respective situations.

Steve Clemons say that the UK is about to announce it's expelling two Iranian diplomats.

Forays in "experimental video" with the Washington Post's Dana Milbank and Chris Cillizza. Watch.

A reader checks in from up on the Hill ...

This is really weird stuff. I mean, mind-boggling kind of weird....... Taking at face value what Sanford's staff is claiming, he abandoned his security detail to hiking on the AT for DAYS - and that's okay? That's insanity. There's no other word for it. What happened if Sanford got lost? Or hurt himself? Or needed emergency medical treatment, which happens on the AT all the time? What would the Gov's office tell the press and people of SC?? How on Earth does the head of his security detail knowingly let Sanford "go alone for days" without making a big stinking deal about it? I sure as hell would...... And, again, that's taking everything Sanford says at face value. Assume, for just a moment, some dark ulterior motive - the SC Gubernatorial security detail is so passive and inept, that it routinely lets the Gov go wandering off on his own?? I remember Sanford when he was a House GOPer, and he was a bit of an odd duck then, And, he's certainly been an odd duck of a Governor. But, this is so far beyond the pale it's breath-taking to ponder.......

As noted before, the governor's office says he checked in by phone this morning and that he plans on coming back to work tomorrow -- roughly a week after he left. It was good timing that he checked in since over the last 12 hours or so the story has generated a media firestorm. We are, to be candid, still rather skeptical of this story -- whether there was a call, just where Sanford's been, etc. But presumably we'll know more soon.

ABC's Jake Tapper just twittered in a report that Gov. Sanford has now made contact with his office.

Gov Sanford called office + was "taken aback" when learning of interest his trip has garnered, his spox sez. Will return to office tomorrow.

Whatever else we can say, one thing is pretty clear: yesterday was a pretty rough day for Gov. Mark Stanford's press team. But let's give them credit.

Even after putting out multiple contradictory stories about the governor's whereabouts over the course of the day, by putting out a statement last night claiming that Sanford was hiking at some unknown location on the Appalachian Trail, having been out of all contact for almost five days, they managed to get editors around the country to run stories headlined "found" and "mystery solved."

Now that's a bravura performance! Only real pros can pull off bamboozlement like that.

We, who are about to be bamboozled, salute you!

"Nobody's ever accused our governor of being conventional," says the spox for AWOL South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford. That and the day's other political news in the TPMDC Morning Roundup.

Yesterday in 100 Seconds: The Neocons Live

Some illuminating background on the decades old relationship between Mousavi and Khamenei

Late Monday evening, Gov. Mark Sanford's office revealed that he is hiking on the Appalachian Trail.

On the face of it, that solves the mystery. But this article from The State, South Carolina's main newspaper, suggests some more troubling possibilities to the story.

The governor's spokesman would not disclose whether or not Sanford was hiking alone. And it seems that neither the governor's office nor state authorities have been able to make contact with the him since he left the governor's mansion on Thursday. (State Sen. Jake Knotts (R), who's known as a critic of Sanford, told The State that he first asked the governor's security chief what was up on Saturday "after he heard reports the governor could not be reached.")

Assuming this is true, it makes some sense of Sanford's spokesman's claim today that his office 'knew' where Sanford was (i.e., 'on the Appalachian Trail', which covers a lot of territory which, to be clear, covers most of the eastern United States) but that they had not been in contact with him.

The article does say that sources say Sanford "regularly makes trips without his security detail." And his spokesman told the paper that, "Before leaving last week, he let staff know his whereabouts and that he'd be difficult to reach."

But there's this from an unnamed source ...

On previous unescorted trips, Sanford has not been out of all contact - including with his own office - for this long, a source said.

Meanwhile, another unnamed official said there was "no indication Sanford had been harmed."

This is, to put it mildly, a tricky story to make sense of. We still have the several contradictory explanations that Sanford's office and family gave out over the course of the day. But if we take the most recent statements basically at face value, the story sounds something like this ...

The governor left on Thursday telling staff he was going to go hiking on the Appalachian Trial. He goes on trips sometimes without his security detail -- which isn't terribly surprising. But he's never been completely out of touch for this long. Then there's the added detail -- also noted earlier today -- that this last known whereabouts was near Atlanta ...

Sanford's last known location was near Atlanta late last week. A mobile telephone tower there picked up a signal from his phone, according to a source familiar with the situation.

If the governor were a civilian, I would say that this kind of data on the whereabouts of his cell phone strongly suggested that an active investigation into his whereabouts was underway. But of course, he's not a civilian. He's a governor. Possibly the whereabouts of his cell phone are routinely tracked. And if not, the state of South Carolina could probably easily pull those records. Still, the fact that this information is in the mix at least suggests that people in the state government have already made some efforts to track down just where the governor is.

Put it all together and this is starting to sound a lot like the governor is genuinely missing.

He goes hiking, either alone or in a small group. He says he'll be away and perhaps not in regular contact. But reading between the lines it seems his people did not expect he'd be totally out of contact for several days. There's some evidence suggesting some efforts may already have been made to track him down. Now it's the beginning of the next week. And there's still no word from him.

I don't think there's much to be gained through more speculation. And there's a lot that's still murky about this. But based on what we're being told, if Sanford weren't the governor of a state but the CEO of a local company, this sounds like the point at which people would be starting to worry about if something had happened to him.

Late Update: A number of news outlets have headlines up with some variation of 'mystery solved' or 'governor located'. But all of these stories, when you dig into them, have the same basic facts. Which is that the governor's spokesman now says he's off hiking. But they admit they don't know just where he is on the Appalachian Trail. And that no one has been in touch with him since last Thursday. That seems like a lot less than solved.

Gov. Mark Sanford is hiking on the Appalachian Trail, his office said this evening, but his spokesperson declined to say where on the trail Sanford is or whether he is hiking alone.

Michael Steele shares some deep insights into health care reform.

TPM alum Greg Sargent has a good post up showing that the anti-Sotomayor push from the GOP seems to be eroding what little Hispanic support is left for the Republican party. And Atrios points out how crazy it is that Republicans have managed to blow it so thoroughly with Hispanics even though it's been clear for years to both parties how critical this constituency would become.

And I agree on both points.

But it's worth backing up to take stock of the structural bind Republicans face on this issue. Back in the 1980s and 1990s, and even into this decade, we always used to hear that refrain from Republicans and gullible press commentators that if GOPers could just compete with the African-American vote that they'd put the Democratic party out of business for good. Lurking in the background was always that unspoken assumption that African-American votes are somehow second rate, don't quite 'count' in the way that non-black votes do. But even on the pure mathematical merits, there was always either a silly or stunningly oblivious assumption behind the reasoning -- now that we've got the racial backlash vote squared away, if we can just get the blacks on board too, then we'll be golden!

Well, yes, as a coalitional feat, that would be something. But we can all see why there are some real entrenched reasons why it's tough to pull that off.

And there's a very similar dynamic with the Hispanic vote. It's not like there aren't a lot of Republicans who know that building up an Hispanic constituency is key for the party. And there's a whole cadre of operatives -- just as there is on the Dem side -- who've taken it upon themselves to work over the years at making that happen.

The only problem is that the modern Republican party's panic switch, or at least one of them, is rancid jingoism and more or less open anti-Hispanic (though often specifically targeted at Mexicans) prejudice. Or, to put it more bluntly, as with African-Americans, it's tough to be the party of the blacks and the racists at the same time. (Not that the Dems didn't try it for a few decades in the middle of the 20th century -- but it didn't end up panning out.)

One might imagine a alternative universe in which gays were not only an increasingly open and powerful political constituency but also one that was growing rapidly in population terms. And you'd have Republicans wanting to cultivate support among this growing group but also episodically bashing them to consolidate support among base conservative voters.

In other words, it's not a mistake or incompetence or any lack of planning that has Republicans in such a bad position with Hispanics, America's fastest growing ethnic group. It's just that people who are hostile to Hispanic immigration and just Hispanics in general are one of the GOP's key constituencies. That puts some real obstacles in the way of becoming the party of Hispanics. To put it mildly ...

We'll have a post on this in a moment. But in what I can only take as a sign of some confusion in South Carolina government circles, we've got two different versions of whether anyone has been in contact with Gov. Mark Sanford today.

The Lt. Gov.'s office is telling the press that the governor's office told them that they have been in contact with the governor today. But the governor's office itself will not confirm or say whether they've been in contact with Sanford today.

Here's the story.

Full-size video at TPMtv.com.

His wife and his security detail may not know where he is. But it's just been flagged for us that Gov. Sanford's Twitter page was updated only eight hours ago.

I'm really stumped as to what it could be about. But something seems a tad fishy here. Gov. Mark Sanford (R) of South Carolina -- most in the press recently for trying to refuse stimulus aid -- disappeared on Thursday. And until today, no one knew where he was.

Now, 'disappeared' might seem like a loaded word. But listen to how The State described it ...

Neither the governor's office nor the State Law Enforcement Division, which provides security for governors, had been able to reach Sanford after he left the mansion Thursday in a black SLED Suburban SUV, said Sen. Jake Knotts and three others familiar with the situation but declined to be identified.

Sanford's last known whereabouts had been near Atlanta because a mobile telephone tower picked up a signal from his phone, authorities said. His office now knows where he is, Adams said.

First lady Jenny Sanford told The Associated Press earlier Monday her husband has been gone for several days and she did not know where.

She said she was not concerned.

That sounds like 'disappeared'.

And frankly, even if imagine something totally off the wall happened, why would his wife say that? Now the governor's wife is saying that he needed some time away from their children to write something. And the governor's office just put out this statement ...

Gov. Sanford is taking some time away from the office this week to recharge after the stimulus battle and the legislative session, and to work on a couple of projects that have fallen by the wayside. We are not going to discuss the specifics of his travel arrangements or his security arrangements.

Other than making clear that fighting off Obama's stimulus money is more draining than we'd imagined, what does that mean exactly?

And there's this from The State ...

One official familiar with the situation said there was no indication that foul play might have been involved because Sanford occasionally makes trips without his security detail.

No indication? You'd think if they were really in contact with him and everything was on the up and up that they could rule out foul play a bit more unequivocally, no?

Earlier today the governor's office told the Lt. Gov's office that they've made contact with him. But they seem unwilling or perhaps unable to provide any details.

I've been keeping my eyes out for the most strained and risible anti-Obama arguments on Iran. And I think we've got a possible winner. GOP operative Rich Galen went on CNN this afternoon to argue that when President Obama taped his special message to the Iranian people back in March (it was actually timed to the Persian New Year, but was part of Obama's general outreach) that he got young people to think that if they took to the streets against their government that "help would be on the way" from Obama. Like if they just hit the streets we'd take care of bringing in the commandos or something.

Yet another case where federal prosecutors allegedly withheld exculpatory evidence from the defendant, and now the department is dismissing the charges:

Federal prosecutors cited problems with evidence Monday when they asked a judge to drop charges against a Chinese-Mexican businessman accused of importing large amounts of methamphetamines to the United States.

U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan lambasted prosecutors at a hearing on the request to dismiss the indictment against Zhenli Ye Gon, saying, "I'm not pleased at all with anything I've heard from the United States government." ...

The judge, who has ordered an investigation into prosecutorial missteps in the investigation of former Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, said there were apparently similar problems in handling evidence in the Ye Gon case.

"This is very serious. This man has essentially been in solitary confinement," Sullivan said. "Someone in the Department of Justice better have a very good answer."

The judge said the prosecutors knew about the witnesses' backtracking months ago but only now decided to act on the information. He also said the government had apparently failed to turn over exculpatory evidence to the defense in a timely fashion.

Presumably a drug smuggling case was not handled by the Public Integrity Section, which has been the focus of the attention for botched cases, suggesting the problem may be more broadly systemic.

From a Dodd op-ed that appeared yesterday in a home state newspaper:

My young daughters are growing up in a different reality than I did. Our family knows many same-sex couples - our neighbors in Connecticut, members of my staff, parents of their schoolmates. Some are now married because the Connecticut Supreme Court and our state legislature have made same-sex marriage legal in our state.

But to my daughters, these couples are married simply because they love each other and want to build a life together. That's what we've taught them. The things that make those families different from their own pale in comparison to the commitments that bind those couples together.

And, really, that's what marriage should be. It's about rights and responsibilities and, most of all, love.

I believe that, when my daughters grow up, barriers to marriage equality for same-sex couples will seem as archaic, and as unfair, as the laws we once had against inter-racial marriage.

And I want them to know that, even if he was a little late, their dad came down on the right side of history.

John McCain is the future.

It's been a pretty rough week for Sen. John Ensign (R-NV). He confessed to an affair. And there's a growing body of evidence of jobs procured to keep people silent. On the bright side, he's still more popular in Nevada than Sen. Reid (D-NV).

Images of your media elite at the Radio and Television Correspondents Association dinner Saturday.

This was sort of buried in that NYT poll over the weekend. But according to their poll, the public overwhelmingly (almost 3/4 of the public) supports a so-called "public option" as part of health care reform.

It's a telling datapoint since congressional support seems to be decreasing.

Bill Keller, on the daring escape of his reporter David Rohde and the decision not to publish news of Rohde's kidnapping by the Taliban. Watch.

GOP senate candidate says the Iran situation shows how lucky we are to have the 2nd Amendment.

As historic events continue to unfold in Iran, many Republicans back at home are taking the opportunity to criticize President Obama's response as "timid" and "passive." Do the charges hold water? We break it down in today's Sunday Show Roundup ...

Full-size video at TPMtv.com.

Krugman, on health care reform: Beware the centrist Dems in the Senate.

The Voting Rights Act survives review by the Roberts Court.

Escaping the shadow of Mac, PC was the headliner at the Radio and Television Correspondents Association dinner Saturday night. Watch.

Demonizing Sonia Sotomayor is not the fund-raising draw that conservatives had hoped for. That and the day's other political news in the TPMDC Morning Roundup.

Iran's Guardian Council has announced that there were 50 cities in the country where more than 100% of eligible voters voted -- an irregularity that accounts for some three million votes.

Estimates of the number of deaths Saturday in the violence in Iran range from 10 (Iranian state media) to 19 (CNN) to much higher (maybe 150). None of the numbers has been independently confirmed.