Messy...well, not really. It was public; he's a public figure! Donna Hanover was a well known TV celebrity/news anchor in NY so that added to the notoriety. They were, for all intents and purposes, separated for ages before the divorce announcement. This was the "mess" part; supposedly he announced the separation before formally telling her he wanted a divorce or letting her know he was making it public news.

Still, wasn't Newt Gingrich re-elected, despite the fact that he was having an affair while his wife was dying? I think he's on wife # 3 now. I don't think there was any real scandal here and the news is old news; there's no press tougher than the NY press and he weathered it just fine. And I think the country is able to handle having a Pres. who is divorced. I sure hope that the fact that a candidate may or may not be divorced, will not be held up as a barometer of accetable morality that one must measure up to in order to be elected.