COLUMBIA, S.C. Each Sunday afternoon in May, Gov. Mark Sanford and his wife hosted five other couples at the executive mansion for a spiritual "boot camp." Topics discussed during the hour-and-a-half-long sessions included forgiveness and "not loving your wife as Christ loved the church."
Group leader Warren "Cubby" Culbertson did not tell the other four couples what he and his wife, Susan, had known for months: The governor was having an affair with a woman in Argentina.
When Jenny Sanford confronted her husband in January after finding a letter to "Maria" among his official papers, the governor turned to Culbertson. For nearly six months, Culbertson has been the first couple's spiritual counselor - and their secret keeper.
The Sanfords "passed" the Culbertsons' course with flying colors. A week later, Jenny Sanford asked her husband to leave their home.
In an interview with The Associated Press this weekend at his Columbia office, just blocks from the State House, Culbertson said he believed his friend when he said that this was his only marital transgression. He thinks Sanford was simply caught off guard by "the power of darkness."
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Culbertson helped found the Round Table, a Bible study that, according to a paper posted on the Web, offers men "a safe place to pose their questions, test their assumptions, and know that they will not be alone or stand out as a spiritual seeker." Sanford sought that spiritual refuge on at least a couple of occasions.
"God hates lawlessness and is tireless in His desire to dissuade man from his fascination with lawlessness," reads a paper titled "Cubby's Talks." "Our hearts are lions' dens of devouring lusts. Lawlessness torments righteous souls every day."
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Janine Driver, a Washington, D.C.-based body language and deception detection expert, said Sanford showed more emotion when apologizing to Culbertson and longtime political aide Tom Davis than he did when speaking of his wife and four sons. She also believes he lied when a reporter asked if this was the first time he had been unfaithful.
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Culbertson knows that Sanford, like any man, has weaknesses. In Culbertson's view, Sanford's chief frailty was his inability to deviate from his own agenda in the political arena.
But cheating?
"Some guys are wired such that violating God's design in this area, of women, is a real challenge to them," he said. "That's not in his DNA. That's why it's such a surprise."
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Culbertson does not believe the other woman went out of her way to seduce a married man. When asked if he had met Maria, Culbertson paused, then looked up, an embarrassed smile creasing his face.
"I'm not going to comment," he said.
The Culbertsons have a waiting list for their boot camps, which they've held for about four years. They often hold the Bible study groups at their spacious colonial house overlooking Lake Katherine.
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http://www.charlotteobserver.com/233/story/806871.htmlOh Noes!! Teh darkness!! Is that the same thing as hiking??
Cubby might want to revamp his course. "Cubby???" And Cubby appears to have met the other woman. Did he want to see
what caused teh darkness??
I can read Mark's body language too. I know he's lying when his lips are moving.
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- Nice imagery. Now if only the people will buy it....
