Now Mark Sanford?

From Real Clear Politics comes this piece from Joel Mowbray about South Carolina governor Mark Sanford and his possible entry into the White House derby:

December 21, 2006
Mark Sanford: The Right Man for 2008?

With the implosion of George Allen, movement conservatives no longer have a candidate in the presidential mix that looks and acts like one of them. Even though the field contains several heavy hitters, such as John McCain and Rudy Giuliani, the GOP grassroots has no one that is a natural fit.

If a small but growing number of conservatives have their way, however, a candidate that could truly excite the base might enter the fray: my old boss and current South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford.

On paper, a Sanford candidacy seems Quixotic. Entering the White House derby at this point would actually be late in the game, he's little-known outside South Carolina and Washington, D.C., and his main foil the past four years has been the GOP-dominated legislature.

But if Republican primary voters decide that the 2008 standard-bearer needs to bring the party back to its Reagan roots, Sanford could be the dark horse to watch. The recently re-elected governor could capture conservatives' imagination with his unrelenting adherence to core principles. Unlike most GOP governors who either pushed their state parties to the left or simply acquiesced to tax or spending increases passed by legislatures of either party, Sanford has battled profligate Republicans at every turn.