Double standard on sex scandals?

The Washington Post has an excellent article on sex scandals in Washington and that Republicans who do it face a much worse future than Democrats. You should read the piece, but here is the explanation that they offer:

"The reality is that Democrats seem to get away with more," says Chuck Todd, editor in chief of the Hotline, a daily political journal. "They can have an affair and bail [themselves] out. There's a lower threshold for Republicans. I guess it's more of a hypocrisy thing," he adds, because such scandals put Republicans at odds with the party's socially conservative image.

Todd thinks he knows who's to blame for this: "It's the media, to be honest. What is the standard 'gotcha' story in the media? It's hypocrisy. If we can prove hypocrisy, we have a story. . . . So in a sex scandal, the bar for Republicans is lower." . . .

So how does this apply to Foley who was fairly widely known as being homosexual? He was strongly in favor of abortion and held liberal social views in other areas. If we accept the Post's excellent evidence that Republicans are treated differently this doesn't answer the question.

But it's tough to blame the media when it's the electorate that determines who stays and who goes. . . .

True, but if you look at the level of publicity in these cases, my guess is that they aren't even close.