Former New Jersey governor Jim McGreevey says the passage of New York’s gay marriage bill Friday indicates politicians are lagging behind voters on the issue, in many cases as Americans accept and support members of their own family who’ve come out of the closet. You understand a nephew, a son, a father is gay, a mother. And that begins to make it very personal,” McGreevey told CNN’s Eliot Spitzer on In the Arena. “People understand — people have a personal connection with someone who is a member of the LGBT community and it profoundly changes the dynamic.

With all the scandals to have hit American politics in the 21st century, it’s sometimes hard to keep all these disgraced politicians straight. Luckily, Rachel Maddow put all the data together on one handy chart– the Post Bill Clinton Modern American Political Sex Scandal Consequence-O-Meter, the X-axis representing potential legal problems and the Y-axis representing the creepiness factor of their behavior.

So here we are again, America. It seems like yesterday we had just emerged from the latest political sex scandal, but it was really way back in February 2011 that “Craigslist Congressman” Chris Lee‘s career ended nearly before it began thanks to his decision to solicit sex from a stranger on the internet, but that scandal has already been eclipsed by Rep. Anthony Weiner‘s surprisingly cut chest. How the media and the public reacted to both can serve as a scale on which to evaluate the forgiveness each is willing to give a fallen public servant.

Former New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevey, who left office after making his “I am a gay American” declaration, has failed in his effort to become an Episcopal priest, according to a story today in the New York Post.

According to the Post‘s Chuck Bennett and Josh Margolin, the Church didn’t have a problem with McGreevey being a gay American, but being a party to a bitter and nasty divorce:

On Tuesday’s Daily Rundown, co-anchor Chuck Todd delivered an innocuous “On This Date” segment about the 1999 swearing in of Jesse Ventura (I-Mn) as Governor, but the 30-second spot did not escape the notice of The Daily Caller‘s Jeff Poor, who wondered if there was a shot at former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin embedded in the clip.

It’s a fair question, especially if you’re inclined to be defensive about Palin, but Todd’s remark was actually fairly broad. Even so, rather than wonder, I actually asked Chuck about it.

Dana Milbank’s Washington Post column today is more of a trend-spotter than a policy analysis, noting that the Republican “Class of ‘94” that stormed in during Newt Gingrich’s Republican Revolution seems to have more sex scandals than most. “No fewer than 15 of the 73 elected in the landslide that year,” Milbank writes, “have entertained the nation with flaps that include messy divorces and a suspicious car accident.” In other words, the Class of ’94 is bringing career-destroying sexy back. But did it ever leave?

Washington Post columnist George Will has written an ode to “the nation’s most interesting governor,” New Jersey’s Chris Christie, and his steely resolve in the face of the state’s powerful unions. Will argues that Christie’s “tough love” will be what’s best for the state in the future– but will New Jersey have any teachers left when he’s done?

Luke Russert was paneling with David Shuster earlier today, in what may have been the most shameless (and yes, sadly, entertaining) moments on cable news thus far this week. Taking off on a Daily Beast feature ranking the top political sex scandals in recent history, Russert took a decidedly sporty style to analyzing what makes a political sex scandal interesting and who has suffered the most political shame: Democrats or Republicans. Video of the sophomoric and salacious video below:

The sudden downfall of Eugene Robinson‘s career at the hands of his libido (no pun intended!), brought to mind all the other politicians who have suffered a similar fate . Behold, a catalog of the most awesome most absurd ways the most lustful lads have been captured in the media.

David Letterman’s public apology Monday night for bad behavior is merely the latest in a long list of famous public apologies. Letterman joins a group of mea culpa-ers that includes a whole lot of politicians — Clinton, McGreevey, Sanford, Spitzer — and one or two jackass entertainers. After the jump, Mediaite’s top ten list of public apologies.