Jenny Sanford ready to spill the beans

South Carolina first lady Jenny Sanford will have a lot of material to choose from when she pens her memoir.

According to South Carolina Republican Party insiders, Sanford is extremely frugal.
“Mark was so cheap that when Jenny became first lady, she had to borrow dresses from her sisters to wear to the inauguration!” said one source close to the couple who spoke on background to ITK.

“And when she moved into the governor’s mansion,” the source added, “the mold problem was so bad that tourists would leave rubbing their eyes. And it was Jenny who fought the statehouse to get funding for repairs — not Mark. How she accomplished all that she did, given how little money she got from Mark, was just amazing.”

Jenny Sanford has been separated from her husband, Gov. Mark Sanford (R), since early July, when he confessed to an extramarital affair with an Argentine woman. News of her book deal with Ballantine Books was reported on Tuesday, and South Carolina political circles are rife with speculation about what the memoir will reveal.

“I wasn’t surprised at all [to learn of the book],” said former South Carolina state GOP Chairman Katon Dawson. “It’s a natural progression, knowing her and knowing how competent and smart she is.”
Jenny Sanford has never been published before, and the search is under way for a co-writer.

But Dawson stressed that Jenny Sanford will be the lead writer.

“Jenny will be involved every step of the way, and there won’t be a comma or a period she hasn’t personally read and approved.”

In addition to her marital troubles, the memoir will cover Sanford’s early life, her career as a Wall Street executive and her occasionally difficult transition into the role of Southern political spouse.
Insiders say the book will likely hit shelves before Gov. Sanford’s term expires late next year.

“This is all part of the rehabilitation process,” said a former campaign adviser. “Jenny is an unsung hero, and this book is a personal story of pain. It’s not a feminist statement. Frankly, I’ve never seen someone as loyal to her husband as Jenny has been to Mark, and this is what it’s left her with. It’s just a tragedy.”

The first lady and her four sons moved out of the governor’s mansion in late August, and insiders say the Sanfords’ marriage is effectively over. Facing the possibility of life as a single parent with four children enrolled in private schools, the income from a major book deal could be very appealing to Jenny Sanford.

Ballantine declined to reveal what it paid for the rights to the memoir, but following the commercial success earlier this year of another betrayed political spouse’s memoir, Elizabeth Edwards’s Resilience, a multimillion-dollar contract would not be out of the question.
A spokesman for Gov. Sanford declined to comment.