Another political sex scandal unfurled this week. We can now add Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) to the list of public figures whose personal lives have recently come under scrutiny. He follows former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and former International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn into the news.

Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich was also subject to scrutiny recently, after it was discovered that he and his wife held a charge account with Tiffany & Co. Jewelers valued between $250,001 and $500,000.

It may or may not be necessary for people to have their private lives in order before they can effectively direct, make, and change the policy on which prosperity and order depend. This Board does not take it upon itself to debate that right now.

What we do believe, however, is that politicians and philanthropists who screw up or act questionably in their marriages and finances should be given ample opportunity to re-emerge into a place of public trust after their personal lives are made right.

Politicians, like all of us, are mortal, imperfect humans. We make mistakes. We recover. We move on. We often say that politicians and celebrities should be held to the same standards as less well-known individuals. So once they’ve earned back the trust previously given, we should accept their leadership once again.

Refusing to support politicians with good ideas who are skilled in cooperation — a skill hard to come by these days — is a bad idea. We need those solutions. The world is a dangerous place, and if we reject the best resources to solve problems, we only handicap ourselves.