Played!

South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford got national attention with his eleventh hour request for additional federal funds for the state’s unemployment benefits.

With one of the country’s highest jobless rates,  which is expected to grow in 2009, Sanford was hammered by the press and some state lawmakers for being “heartless” and for jeopardizing the unfortunate for the sake of political posturing.

FITSNews has a very informative piece on the issue, noting that, although the governor doesn’t consider his effort a PR “success,” new scrutiny is now being levied at the Employment Security Commission.  FITSNews also highlighted earlier in December that the showdown was coming and why.

The point of all this is that Sanford had no intention of withholding funds or not applying for federal monies.  By squeezing the deadline, he managed to bring to light a serious defect in South Carolina’s system of government -  constitutionaly-mandated handcuffs on the chief executive.  His waiting game got plenty of attention which he used, not for himself, but for the issue.

This wasn’t about Sanford.  As he has often does, the governor has inventively demonstrated shortcomings in the state’s antiquated constitution or what he considers faults in the logic of his political opposition.  Curiously enough, that opposition isn’t from the rival (and very minority) Democrat Party, but rather what the Weekly Standard has called “The Good Old Boy Party,” his own Republicans.

With little help from a self-absorbed bunch of legislative shoguns and a local “press” that isn’t as important or smart as it thinks it is, Sanford has to resort to other means to get his messages and his points across to the public.

As the deadline closed in on requests for federal unemployment funds, Mark Sanford played the press and the state legislature.  He knew all along that he was going to sign the papers, so nothing was jeopardized.

I’ll bet, though, that he got a little satisfaction in watching pundits and good old boys squirm and fuss over, essentially, nothing.  At the same time, light was shone on a serious deficiency.

Good on him.