EMBATTLED GOVERNOR TO TAKE CALLS ON WVOC AM AT 5 P.M.

For the first time since his June disappearance and admission of an extramarital affair, disgraced Gov. Mark Sanford will be taking to the radio airwaves and taking phone calls from South Carolina residents.

Talk show host Keven Cohen said Monday that Sanford will be on News Radio 560 WVOC AM in Columbia from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. and will be fielding questions from listeners.

If you don’t live in the Midlands, you can still listen to the program online at www.wvoc.com.

With Sanford under increasing pressure to resign after allegations that he used state aircraft for personal travel, violated state law by using high-priced airfare, and didn’t report the use of private aircraft, there’s no doubt this will be a show worth listening to. And I would expect the phone lines to be jammed.

The results of a State Ethics Commission investigation into the claims are expected to be released soon. Some state legislators, however, are already drafting impeachment letters and insiders say there may be enough votes to remove the governor from office.

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UPDATE: As expected, Sanford only took questions for about 30 minutes and used the first half hour for boring back-and-forth banter. Most of the questions were softballs, including one praising him for opposing REAL ID and PASS ID.

When he did get one or two tough questions, he completely dodged giving an answer and instead brought up government restructuring. And when asked if he would “do it again,” referring to his extramarital affair with an Argentine woman, he was evasive.

Sanford’s overall tenor suggested further that he’s not really all there. At one point he mentioned something about how he tries to make lemons out of lemonade.

I might write more about it tomorrow — or, at the very least, pull the audio for those who missed it — if I can keep awake long enough to re-hash the full 60 minutes. Otherwise, this update will probably suffice for those who missed it.