Of course, there are other differences between David Letterman's "sex scandal" and most politicians' transgressions. Letterman is a comedian…not someone we expect to be making laws that define what's right and wrong. Also — and I suspect this was on his mind when he decided to go public with his situation — Dave comes off to a great extent like a victim in his case. This may or may not be how it all plays out but at the moment, the other guy looks like a sleazeball extortionist. Which, of course, makes Dave look better…makes you even feel sorry for him in a way.
The smart thing Dave accomplished by breaking the news himself was that he made it about David Letterman being blackmailed, rather than about Dave having sex with women on his staff. He even told the story that way on his show, telling the world that he was being shaken down for having done "creepy things" and then, at the end, finally revealing what those alleged creepy things were.
How it will all develop will depend, of course, on what else comes out. If some female Worldwide Pants employee comes forward with a tale that makes Dave sound like an aging Roman Polanski, that may do Letterman's rep some damage. The lawyer for the alleged blackmailer has been making it sound like he wants to put Dave on trial and to fill the courtroom with damaging revelations if his client doesn't get a generous plea bargain. Frankly, in the absence of some genuine crime on Letterman's part, I don't think America cares who's on his personal Top Ten list.