Wow. So, the State newspaper down in South Carolina, using open records law, requested and got more than 600 pages of documents detailing e-mails and phone calls related to Gov. Mark Sanford’s disappearance. They found that the governor’s staff had no idea where he was. But that wasn’t the most interesting thing they found - that would be how the media, or certain media outlets, phoned or e-mailed to say no sweat - they had Sanford’s back:

“If you all want to speak on this publicly, you’re welcome to Washington Times Radio,” wrote staffer Joseph Deoudes to Sanford spokesman Joel Sawyer on June 23. “You know that you will be on friendly ground here!” …

<snip>

Another reporter, Griff Jenkins of Fox News, invited Sanford on to set the record straight.

“Having known the Governor for years and even worked with him when he would host radio shows for me,” Jenkins wrote to Sawyer on June 23, “I find the story and the media frenzy surrounding it to be absolutely ridiculous!”

<snip>

The e-mails also show some reached out to the governor on how best to come to his defense.

“If he wants something more personal for the blog to push back, I’m happy to help,” wrote Erick Erickson, a writer for RedState.com. On June 23, Erickson ripped “media speculation” about Sanford’s whereabouts.

Opined Charles Bierbauer, dean of the University of South Carolina College of Mass Communications and Information Studies:

But, Bierbauer said some of the e-mails crossed ethical lines.

“No, you can’t promise friendly ground,” Bierbauer said. “It’s legitimate to ask for a focused interview, but you have to ask about current events.”

But that’s not the point at Fox News or RedState. The point is to defend Republicans.