Mark Sanford's Mistress Revealed: Maria Belen Chapur

Just days after we learned of Republican Senator John Ensign's affair, another high-profile Republican with the possibility of a 2012 presidential run made headlines and lost his chance at being part of the quickly-narrowing field of candidates. At first it appeared that South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford was simply missing, confusing the country and leaving many worried about his whereabouts. Had someone killed him or kidnapped him? Did he leave the country for some mysterious reason? It seemed odd to many that Mark Sanford didn't spend Father's Day with his family and just neglected his duties with no announcement explaining why. This whole thing smelled like an affair from the start, but no news outlets were going there just yet.

Then everyone was somewhat reassured when the news broke that his staff had revealed that he had simply gone hiking down an Appalachian trail, however his wife still admitted that she had no idea where Mark Sanford had disappeared to. But his staff reassured reporters that it was not uncommon for Mark Sanford to disappear for days at a time to "clear his head". As it turns out, he hadn't gone hiking at all, but had been visiting South America to unwind. Not long after the media got hold of this snippet of information the real reason for his trip was revealed, an affair with an Argentinean woman named Maria.

According to Time.com, Mark Sanford's mistress has been identified as Maria Belen Chapur. Maria Belen Chapur is a 43-year-old divorced mother of two children who works for an agricultural company and lives in Palermo, Argentina, who Mark Sanford has described as a "dear, dear friend". Unfortunately for Mark Sanford, details of his affair and his mistress have been leaked through revealing emails (although he hasn't had to deal with photos like Democrat John Edwards yet). The only photos on the web so far are just outside shots of Maria Belen Chapur's apartment.

It didn't take long for the press to get hold of Mark Sanford's emails, which reveal his love for the gentle kisses, tan lines, and deep connection to the soul of Maria Belen Chapur. But as it embarrassing as all of this is, it's nothing compared to the photos that circulated the web of Democratic ex-governor of New York Eliot Spitzer's mistress or the embarrassing stories of what actually went on between Monica Lewinsky and Bill Clinton and photos of the two hugging. And at least he didn't get caught in a bathroom stall like Senator Larry Craig.

Still, as soon as the press finds photos of Maria Belen Chapur, you bet they'll be on the net, and the story won't die down until we've heard her side of the affair. And I can just hear Rush Limbaugh blaming this on someone else now. He recently blamed Bill Clinton for the Zicam incidents where people lost their sense of smell (Zicam sponsored his show). So I guess he'll just blame all of the Republican affairs on Bill Clinton, too; he did make them trendy, after all. No news on whether Mark Sanford will step down and run away with Maria Belen Chapur, but as a congressman he did vote for Bill Clinton's impeachment after the Lewinsky affair.

SOURCES:
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/us_world/2009/06/22/2009-06-22_awol_gov_sanford_has_south_carolina_in_tizzy.html
http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1907036,00.html
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090625/ap_on_re_us/us_sc_governor_where