America is confused.

In the last several weeks, we’ve been inundated by news of Eliot Spitzer’s romp with “Kristin,” which resulted in his resignation as New York governor. Some news outlets have marked him off as just another politician publicly humiliated for his penchant for “women of the night.”

In an article in Newsweek’s March 24 issue, Spitzer’s childhood was dissected in hopes of determining

how such a promising politico could fall so easily. Did he want to get caught due to a privileged past, or was he just sloppy?

It’s not a question of carelessness. America has an obsession with sex. Gov. Rod Blagojevich is entangled in the now infamous Antoin “Tony” Rezko corruption trial, yet more people are interested in Spitzer’s sex life. People don’t seem to care if their own governor is corrupt, yet we are apt to tune in for all of Spitzer’s gory details.

This obsession carries into pop culture. There, however, sex is good. Sex is real good.

Kristin Davis (Charlotte from “Sex and the City”) and her agents are scrambling to clear her name after sexy photos surfaced of her online. Davis has denied they’re of her, but the photos are still everywhere. It’s sex, and America can’t get enough.

The same reaction ensued when racy pictures circulated of Audrina from MTV’s “The Hills.” I had no idea who this person was before I searched “sex scandal” on Google. Had she made a remotely smart comment on her TV show, I probably still wouldn’t know who she is.

But in Spitzer’s case, he didn’t just have sex; he broke the law. For this, I fear that those who don’t take the time to understand the Spitzer fiasco will assume he resigned just because he did the nasty. Of course, they’ll deem him a terrible person. We in America love a good fall from grace. We read, watch and wince at the tabloid fodder of Lindsay Lohan, Eliot Spitzer and Britney Spears like we would a car crash. If Spears screws up, it’s kinda funny. While Spitzer didn’t hurt anyone other than his family, our unrealistic expectations for him as a public official have left him no room to be human and have faults.

We’re promoting a gross double standard. We place our politicians on unfair pedestals. We’ve condemned Spitzer, who was a fine governor, but we’ve already forgotten about Scooter Libby. Spitzer had sex, Libby lied about exposing a working CIA agent. Libby walked away unscathed, thanks to our president. Spitzer resigned in disgrace. Whose crime was worse?

We’re a big bunch of hypocrites when it comes to sex. We know we’re all having it, but we like to pretend we don’t. Sex is just dirty, and it bothers us.

If you’re a normal person, America thinks you can have as much sex as you want. If you’re a public official, America thinks you’re a eunuch.