The spectacle in South Carolina continued yesterday, but largely under the radar of the mainstream media. Bloggers are undecided on whether or not this is a good thing.

On Wednesday, South Carolina Lieutenant Governor Andre Bauer called for Governor Mark Sanford's resignation, vowing he himself would, in assuming the position, not seek the governor's office in the 2010 election. According to The Wall Street Journal, this pledge would remove one of Sanford's possible objections to resignation--that it would "give Mr. Bauer a leg up in the 2010 race." Governor Sanford, however, responded three hours later, saying that while it would be "heaven on earth" to take the Lt. Governor up on the offer, he did not believe it "the right time to fold the tent."

Bloggers and newscasters alike rarely pass up entertainment like this, but yesterday was different. Nevertheless, those who were not completely dedicated to Ted Kennedy remembrances took some time to comment on the continuing drama:

• Lucky Timing for Sanford, Amy Sullivan of Time's Swampland blog commented. Not only did he reveal his Argentinian romance "less than 24 hours before Michael Jackson died," but now he got news of his second-in-command's public betrayal under cover of Ted Kennedy's death.
  

As we've seen, those pre-produced cable montages don't stop for anyone. A philandering Southern governor is no match for the King of Pop or the End of Camelot. And so Mark Sanford lives to see another day.

• Leave. Now.  Michelle Malkin, "with apologies to Dr. Seuss," delivered her verdict: "You can go by bus. You can go by jet. I don't care how, just get, get, get."

• No Kidding  John Hawkins of Right Wing News may be less famously anti-Sanford than Malkin ("Mark Sanford: Bastard," the conservative Malkin unequivocally announced back in June), but that doesn't mean he wants the man to stick around. Calling Sanford "probably more of a decent guy than the average politician," he noted that the governor came across less as a general philanderer than as "a man [...] who's unable to decide if it's worth it to destroy his family and throw his life's work away to be with the woman he really loves." The bottom line?

While that might make for a compelling reality series, the people of South Carolina need an effective Governor, not the star of an ongoing morality play.

Governor Sanford may be lucky but, at least in the blogging world, he doesn't appear to be particularly well-liked.

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Heather Horn