Gov. Mark Sanford is known in the 1st District for his Spartan existence on Capitol Hill, where as a congressman he slept in his office rather than sustain the expense of an apartment.
He has now taken frugality to a new level while he and his family await completion of mold removal in the Governor's Mansion. The governor, his wife and four children have squeezed into a single room at the adjacent pool house for a month or so.
The accommodations make Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee's trailer, used during renovations of that state's governor's mansion, seem almost extravagant by comparison. (It was a triple-wide.)
Mr. Sanford tells The Associated Press that sharing close accommodations has proven "kind of zany," but he apparently finds the pool house adequate, even for six. He seems to possess the tolerant equanimity to live with young, active children at close quarters.
The experience should serve him well as he prepares to deal with newly elected legislators, full of themselves and eager for Columbia. If only his example would serve to instruct our next class of lawmakers in the virtues of patience and thrift.
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