NATIONAL BRIEFING / SOUTH CAROLINA

Gov. Mark Sanford, under fire because of an extramarital affair, wrote in an opinion piece that God would change him so he could become a more humble and effective leader.

“While none of us has the chance to attend our own funeral, in many ways I feel like I was at my own in the past weeks, and surprisingly I am thankful for the perspective it has afforded,” Sanford wrote in the piece, which was distributed statewide.

Sanford, a two-term Republican, returned from a mysterious trip last month to reveal a romance with a woman in Argentina. In a series of interviews, he described the woman as his “soul mate,” but said he would work to repair his relationship with his wife, Jenny, the mother of their four sons.