Second chances? Maybe. . . But eight chances . . ?

Gail Collins, writing in the New York Times op-ed pages, ridicules former Gov. Mark Sanford who has just won election to Congress.

It's not just the moral questions about extramarital affairs.   It's a question of judgment, she says.  Here's what Sanford said in his victory speech Tuesday night:

"I want to acknowledge a God not just of second chances, but third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth chances."

Ye, gads.   He seems to be saying that he can just keep right on sinning -- or showing bad judgment, take your pick -- and God (and the electorate) will just keep on forgiving him.  How many times?    That's ridiculous -- at least if by 'forgiving' you mean electing him to office.

How is that different from saying it just doesn't matter what he does or how bad his judgment is?    I could make that argument if we were only talking about private moral behavior in affairs of the heart.

But look at the poor judgment he has shown:   As sitting governor, he left the country without telling even his own staff where he was going, nor did he turn the reins of government over to a Lt. Governor.

Then when he was caught, he went public with excessive details about his emotional life and his sexual life during press conferences.   Way too much information.  Cringe-inducing information.  On top of that he had a fine for ethics violations and a court restraining order for repeated trespassing on his ex-wife's property.

Here's the bottom line though:   the voters in his congressional district voted him back into office.    So what do we think of the judgment of the people?    Giving somebody a second chance might show good judgment.    How can giving that same somebody eight, perhaps unlimited, chances be anything but bad judgment?

Or is it all just politics, and this is a very very Republican district?   It would have been nearly unthinkable that a Democrat might win -- except for the numerous, self-inflicted strikes against Sanford.    It's a measure of just how bad his chances seemed to be that there was real hope and, for a while, real expectation that Elizabeth Colbert Busch might win.

As righteous as conservative Republicans in a conservative Republican state might be -- politics still triumphs.   Or else those good folks 'jes' luv to have themselves a bad boy asking  f'r furgiveness.'

Ralph