Let's face it - The state of New York did not crumble into Lake Ontario after Gov. Eliot Spitzer's affair.

Then again, that's New York. What about South Carolina? We weren't exactly thriving before our chief executive became the butt of late night TV. We are routinely on the wrong end of national rankings. In fact, the  Friday Sanford went missing - the Friday before Father's Day weekend - the state unemployment agency released data that placed us third in the nation in joblessness.

Do you think Gov. Mark Sanford's extra-marital affair with an Argentine woman is going to dirty the Palmetto State's image? I spoke to a few experts on this, and the predictions were mixed.

Loretta Lepore, who used to be Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue's press secretary and the state's chief marketing officer, said the type of crisis we're in the middle of is typically viewed as a "momentary blip" to outsiders.  

But S.C. Rep. Bakari Sellers, D-Denmark, and Sen. Vincent Sheheen, D-Camden, are concerned.  And Sheheen, who is running for governor of S.C., went so far as to say Sanford has made South Carolina a "laughingstock" at a time we can least afford further economic adversity.

And Sherri Fallin, CEO of Atlanta-based Duffey Communications, said pending business negotiations may be vulnerable.

"If I'm a business relocating there and he's still the governor, you might question the stability of the (political) infrastructure in South Carolina, especially if I'm in the middle of a deal," she said. 

What do you think, dear readers? Does the public have more at stake here?