Politicians have had their share of dirty laundry aired in the media over the years. Campaigns have been crushed. Tears have been shed. Marriages shattered as a result. Even inappropriate nude photos have prompted a collective queasiness among Americans (Anthony Weiner, put your pants back on!). Politicians have become the new celebrities—except with suits and ties and more wrinkles. Instead of focusing primarily on political, social and economic issues, the spotlight shines brightly on private matters.

Is it wrong that we’re so obsessed with politicians’ sex lives? Many will make the argument that a strong leader is committed to all aspects of his life, including a commitment to marriage. That’s why, they say, a politician’s private life concerns the public. Ideally, that is a true assertion, but we don’t live in a perfect world. Therefore, while I hope that a candidate for president or any kind of leader would embody all levels of commitment in every endeavor in their lives, I also recognize that politicians are human beings too and have vices that the rest of us commonly fall prey to.

Morals could be a strong indicator of a good leader, but it is not the only indicator. There have been strong leaders, like Martin Luther King Jr, who have succumbed to sexual desires (his affairs were chronicled in Taylor Branch’s biography, “At Canaan’s Edge.” It didn’t mean that King wasn’t a great civil rights leader – it just means he was flawed.

Perhaps we should try to separate private from public, dirty laundry from clean.

That’s why I have to admit I was at first pleasantly surprised when Newt Gingrich called out on the media in the South Carolina debate for the overemphasis on one’s personal life. Because the guy’s got a point: starting a presidential debate by asking about Marianne Gingrich’s interview with ABC News is classless and irrelevant. What happened to wanting to know about a candidate’s economic policy? Or the war in Libya? Why is Gingrich’s monkey business the first thing on everyone’s mind?

I don’t know about any of you, but frankly I don’t really care about Gingrich’s messy divorces. He could be into wild gorilla sex for all I care. What I want to know is what he thinks of China’s currency manipulation, or if he supports Roe versus Wade. I want to know more, I want to know everything about what he can do for America. Don’t get me wrong. Infidelity is morally wrong. I’m hardly advocating for it. I just don’t think that someone’s personal life is the only, single factor in determining whether they are competent candidates or not.

So Mr. Gingrich, you were so close. I almost started to like you. I thought you made a pretty good point about the media being all hyped up about your philandering ways. But then you started yelling and pointing your finger everywhere, and those actions proved to be just as classless as the question that was asked of you.