In this year’s episode of “The U.S. Military Gets Caught With Its Pants Down,” two of the nation’s most critical military leaders, David Petraeus and John Allen, have been ensnared in a scandal that is so complex nobody knows whether it’s true or just an incredibly elaborate diversion by the CIA to cover up an even bigger secret. When the story first broke, we collectively asked ourselves what could possibly have forced one of the most powerful men in the world to resign; was it a strategic failure? Perhaps he was finally being held accountable for the CIA’s errant drone program? It turned out to be neither. Petraeus resigned because the FBI discovered his extramarital affair with his outrageously fit biographer, Paula Broadwell. Many people were not surprised that the affair led to his resignation, but in hindsight, perhaps we should be.

Petraeus’ case is unique because of the possibility that his affair has compromised national security interests, but he is certainly not the first public official to resign because of domestic infidelities. Rep. Anthony Weiner and Rep. Chris Lee, former congressmen, both quit after stunts worthy of high school students when they sent shirtless pictures to random women. And we can’t forget Bill Clinton’s infamous escapades underscored by Newt Gingrich’s leadership of the impeachment trials. They are all part of a long list of politicians who are no different. It must be said that none of these men are morally defensible. However, over the last century, the United States has become increasingly bloodthirsty in demanding the professional destruction of political officials who commit personal infidelities, often when it is not necessary.

Perhaps the best way to make this case is to compare. The French enjoy gossip as much as Americans but have completely disassociated personal life from political; this is, in fact, one of the strict tenets of French politics, and the 2012 French presidential elections exemplify the practical implementation of this notion. Incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy led a personal life that would titillate American tabloids, having been cheated on by his second wife in 2005 and then subsequently cheating on her with a prominent journalist. The couple divorced two years later, almost immediately following his election as French president in 2007. One month later, he met the Tyra Banks of France, Carla Bruni, and married her at the Élysée Palace in 2009.

Ironically, the man Sarkozy lost to this year, current President François Hollande, has a similarly interesting personal life. Mr. Hollande was the 23-year partner of politician Ségolène Royal, but left her soon after his presidential loss to Mr. Sarkozy in 2007, deciding on journalist Valérie Trierwiler instead. To the credit of the French, none of these personal particularities was discussed for longer than a few minutes during the election season. Mr. Sarkozy was widely disliked by the end of his first term, but he lost the presidency because of policy, not Bruni and won the office a few years later.

The concept of ignoring personal infidelities by public officials is certainly foreign to American political culture. We are a nation founded on family values, and we expect our leaders to exemplify the highest possible moral aptitude to assure us they apply the same ethical principles in their professional lives, and rightly so. But it’s also important to remember that our leaders are as human and fallible as we are, and we are often so caught up in our moral judgment of these individuals that we overlook the irrelevance of their personal lives to the execution of their duties.

A version of this article appeared in the Tuesday, Nov. 15 print edition. Sameer Jaywant is a staff columnist. Email him at [email protected].