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The Charlotte Observer today says S.C. Gov. Mark Sanford should be impeached.

In addition to citing the 37 alleged ethics violations a state commission tagged Sanford with Monday, the Observer argues these grounds for impeachment, with which I concur:

"He vanished from the state for five days last summer. He lied to state employees and citizens about where he was. He did nothing to put someone in charge in his absence. He left the state with no leader and no way to find him in case of an emergency."

Curiously, the Observer's sister newspaper in Columbia, The State, has not come to that editorial conclusion. In an interview with NPR yesterday, an associate editor offered a very weak reason why not: The editorial board isn't sure Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer is fit to take over if Sanford is removed from office.

That makes absolutely no sense.

Either you believe Sanford's actions warrant removal or you don't. If you do, then you must call for his impeachment or resignation.

Saying, "Well, Bauer might be worse," is a cop-out. It's like a football coach saying he can't bench his star quarterback for flagrantly violating team rules because the backup isn't so good. No. You get rid of the problem, then worry about what to do next.

Besides, Bauer hasn't had a chance to screw up. Maybe he's not worse than Sanford.

It's really hard to believe he could be.