Mark Sanford has always come off like a man who wished only to serve the public good, rather than feed his ego.

We're not so sure anymore.

Certainly the South Carolina governor's affair with the Argentinian woman was all about ego -- i.e., self.

Now, Sanford is clinging to office for the same reason: ego. A chance at personal redemption.

"He indicated he believed that his only chance for redemption was to stay in office," a conservative South Carolina ally told CNN.

"I would ultimately be a better person and of more service in whatever doors God opened next in life if I stuck around to learn lessons rather than running and hiding down at the farm," Sanford e-mailed supporters this week.

We can appreciate the governor's chutzpah in wanting to face the music. But notice the emphasis he is placing on himself.

That's not what they built a capitol for in Columbia, governor. You want personal redemption, you go to church. You volunteer. Personal redemption is not what the governor's office is about.

Moreover, it's hard to believe Sanford will find redemption in political office anyway. Consider: He now acknowledges there were more liaisons with the woman in the past year (five) than he admitted to in his press conference (three). He told the Associated Press Tuesday that he'd actually "crossed lines" (that stopped short of sex) with other women as well. And the state's attorney general, Henry McMaster, has called for a State Law Enforcement Division investigation into whether Sanford used state travel funds for any of his trysts.

Sanford welcomed the probe in a press release -- but how welcome can all these distractions really be?

We encourage the governor to weigh his motivations. If he truly believes his staying in office is best for South Carolina, perhaps he should explain how that is so.

But if he is seeking redemption, that's his business -- not the state's.

Is his clinging to office about the public good or about himself?