A coach at a major university is convicted of molesting young boys for more than a decade. A would-be presidential nominee lies about an affair and the paternity of their child. Another round of bizarre behavior sends a music star into rehab. The stories keep hitting the press at a non-stop pace.

There will be more. Count on it. And one of the most common and off-putting responses we will hear in practically every case is this: What so-and-so does in private life has nothing to do with his or her public abilities.



At one level, that's right. Teaching kids how to be better athletes, wooing donors and getting votes, belting out a mesmerizing song - all those abilities exist independently of dumb, criminal, or evil things somebody does. For a time anyway. Until the nex...