(Columbia) January 9, 2007 - First Lady Jenny Sanford is running the Governor's Mansion - as well as a number successful campaigns.

Sanford tells WIS' Kara Gormley, "It's hard to believe four years has passed."

Sitting in the Governor's Mansion library - family pictures on the book shelves - there's a seemingly more confident, more relaxed first lady than the Jenny Sanford Kara first met in 2002. At that time, Jenny Sanford was running her husband's campaign from Sullivan's Island.

As campaign manager, Jenny Sanford is credited with helping put her husband in the Governor's office and keeping him there, "I hope it's the last campaign I ever run. Yes, I feel pretty strongly about that."

"I look at it - it's not my love. I'm not driven to run campaigns, but we work well together."

Mrs. Sanford has heard the talk, speculation her husband could be tapped to run for President, "Even if he were to choose to run for something else at some point and time, I'm sure I'd be involved but I wouldn't have to run it I don't think."

But even for Mrs. Sanford, with success, comes criticism. "I am aware of the fact that there are people, particularly in our legislature, not used to having women behind the scenes - for example helping the Governor, the wife helping the Governor. There are times when they call me all sorts of things. I am aware of it. It is a political reality, something I have to deal with and I've done my best to stay behind the scenes and stay quiet and not be in the forefront. That's just the price you pay."

One time Mrs. Sanford didn't stay quiet. She wrote a letter supporting Mike Campbell instead of incumbent Andre Bauer in the race for Lt. Governor, "I think it's kind of crazy that everybody jumped on me for that, frankly."

"How is it any different for a sitting Republican legislator to back a Republican running against Mark, the incumbent? How is that different than me saying, 'Hey, by the way, the Campbell family's been really good to us and I'm going to vote for Mike Campbell.' What's so bad about me doing that? I'm not even an office-holder. I should be free enough to do that and then some. I think it's absurd. And I got nasty letters, some really nasty letters, from legislators and others. But it's an unfortunate part of what is political reality."

So, she focuses on being a mom. And while she says her kids are grounded, she is a little concerned how four years living in a mansion will effect them later on, "There are times when we go somewhere else, we're home for a while and I ask them to do something, a chore, and they'll be kind of  - a little - I'll say not quick enough. I get a little nervous because they get complacent. Things are done for them here."

She says her boys are working on a book about their life in the mansion. Right now, she's knee-deep in inauguration planning.

Four years ago, Kara and the First Lady and went on a shopping trip, looking for an outfit to wear to the first inaugural barbecue. So what's she wearing this time around? She says blue jeans and probably a sweater one of her friends picked out. "She brought over two different sweaters she got on sale from Belk. This afternoon I'll have the girls come over. I'll have a little fashion show."

Jenny Sanford is looking forward to inauguration day, her family's next four years in Columbia, and fortunately she says, that's it, "We went into this election in November not knowing if we were packing up and moving back to Charleston in December and changing schools. Now we know we'll be here four more years and as far as I'm concerned, in four years we move back to Sullivan's Island."

Reported by Kara Gormley

Posted 6:27pm by Chantelle Janelle