Governor Mark Sanford of South Carolina delivered a brilliant interview on the porkulus bill yesterday on CNN. You can see the video here . Sanford was blunt and honest in his assessment of the bailout legislation -- refreshing, and long overdue, candor from a Republican.  

“We’re moving precipitously close to what I would call a savior-based economy,” Sanford declared in the interview. He was referring to third world and communist countries where businesses are forced to go hat in hand to the central government (the “savior”) for approval and for financing.

Watch the first of the segment carefully. The CNN moderator shamelessly sets several traps for Sanford. (The talking head John King even has charts of county-by-county unemployment in South Carolina. Wouldn’t it be nice to see CNN try that with a Democrat once every decade?)

But Sanford responded flawlessly to the questions. This is a forthright, insightful interview by Governor Sanford. It is about time someone in the Republican Party started telling it like it is. Thanks Governor.

Hat tip: AT reader “merry”