When it comes to political scandals, there is nothing the American public loves more than one involving a politician’s personal life.

From the John F. Kennedy-Marilyn Monroe love affair to the Monica Lewinsky Oval Office scandal, opinions come forth when a leader’s dirty laundry is aired. In fact, Americans love a good scandal even if it’s the drug scandal of a Canadian politician like Toronto Mayor Rob Ford.

The most recent example is Rep. Vance McAllister, a Republican from Louisiana. McAllister, a married man, was caught on camera kissing one of his female staffers, who is also married. The footage, which was captured in December, has already rocked the personal lives of both the congressman and his employee/lover.

As intriguing as this story is, it should not influence the overall image of the congressman; a personal matter of a politician never should.

Now, of course citizens expect a certain level of moral strength from their leaders, and rightfully so. To lead the greatest nation on earth, we require the greatest people on earth. But even the strongest of characters have faults.

Even our nation’s greatest leaders were not immune to personal struggles. Presidents Thomas Jefferson and Grover Cleveland allegedly fathered out of wedlock, and the framers of our Constitution drank like Denzel Washington before a 9 a.m. flight.

Those were the good ol’ days, however. Technology today ensures that everything a politician does leaves a digital trail, making it that much easier to get caught. Americans need to understand this. There isn’t a human being in this country or on this planet who wouldn’t have a few dirty secrets made public if they decided to run for a federal-level public office.

If and when a person does decide to run for office, he or she should follow the route of our current president. Before he even ran, President Obama released a book about his life, in which he disclosed details about his days smoking marijuana with the “Choom Gang” in Hawaii and using cocaine in college.

When Obama did run for office back in 2008, the issue of his past drug use came to light only briefly and with little impact, as he himself had already revealed the information.

Conversely, President Bill Clinton faced massive public drawback and an impeachment after the details of his affair with his intern, Lewinsky, were revealed. Clinton faced much harsher judgment for his personal choices than Obama did because the latter beat the mainstream media to the punch. Which at least revealed something admirable about our culture.