Top 10 Political Sex Scandals

Herman Cain isn't even in office yet, and the 2012 GOP candidate has already found himself in the middle of a political sex scandal over allegations he sexually harassed at least two female employees during his time as head of the National Restaurant Association. As controversy threatens to take down Cain out of the race, TIME looks at the tawdry affairs of his philandering predecessors

Sinful Statesmen

Jerry Springer

By Madison Gray and S. James SnyderWednesday, June 08, 2011
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Scott Olson / Reuters / Corbis

Scandal: Patronizing a prostitute
How Outed: Used a personal check

While he was serving in Cincinnati's city council, a raid on a Fort Wright, Ky., brothel uncovered the check Springer had written for a prostitute's services. Springer admitted the dealing during a press conference and resigned his post in 1974. City residents appreciated his candor so much that they reelected him to his seat in 1975 and later elected him mayor in 1979, before he left politics to become a rabble-rousing talk-show host.