Saying that Gov. Mark Sanford has had an interesting past six months is quite an understatement.

Sanford’s problems began when he disappeared for a week, claiming to be on a hiking trip.

But when reporters were present when he returned from a liason with his South American mistress, Sanford’s private life became very public.

Sanford admitted to the affair, apologized to his wife Jenny, and promised to regain the trust of his family and the state’s voters.

But Sanford still seemed erratic for the next few weeks. Calling his mistress is “soul mate” in a public interview certainly did not help with his efforts to gain his wife’s forgiveness.

Sanford had made enemies on both aisles of the legislature. Democrats certainly are going to question a Republican governor. But perhaps his more vocal opponents had come from his own party, as the governor butted heads with Republican legislators over spending issues.

When Sanford showed up at the state senate carrying two pigs — to represent, he said, the piggish spending of the senate — none of the members were pleased. Many went as far as to call the governor’s actions “a disgrace.”

When news broke about Sanford’s unfaithfulness in his marriage, many of his longtime enemies were quick to jump at the chance to get rid of their antagonist.

Sanford’s supporters continued to speak of forgiveness, but as the governor’s actions continued to bring negative attention to Columbia, even Sanford’s supporters started to question if he was fit to continue in office.

An investigation into Sanford’s travel during his time in office brought many more questions to light. Why would an avowed conservative like Mark Sanford — he once restricted his campaign staff from purchasing new paper clips when they could reuse the old ones — violate state law by using first class tickets for travel?

At first Sanford pointed out that previous governors had done worse and never had their hand called on the issue. But “they did it but they didn’t get caught” is rarely an acceptable defense.

Sanford welcomed a public investigation at first, but later made moves to ensure the findings of the investigation remain private until the investigation is completed.

Even Sen. Larry Martin — who has often clashed with Sanford on spending issues, but generally considers the governor a friend — became curious of the governor’s actions.

“You’ve got to wonder what is he trying to hide by keeping the investigation private,” Martin said.

The call for Sanford’s impeachment and removal from office has grown louder. But some are concerned that such a process would distract lawmakers from attempting to solve some of the state’s more pressing problems, such as the economy.

Some have suggested the legislature should go into special session to consider Sanford’s impeachment. Otherwise, they feel that the legislature should simply move forward with other issues and let the expiration of Sanford’s term solve any problem with the governor.

So how do you feel? For this special poll, we are giving you three options. We ask what should the S.C. legislature do about Sanford. One option would be to go into special session and impeach him now. A second option would be to wait until the next regular session opens and begin the impeachment process then.

The third option will be to simply allow Sanford to serve the final year of his term.

Go to www.theeasleyprogress.com and vote. If you have any comments, send them to brobinson@theeasleyprogress.com.