Must leaders be judged by what they do in their private lives regardless of their leadership qualities?

With regard to leaders with double lives, let me start with a quote from Matthew, Disciple of Jesus, that bests describes them: " You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness." Such leaders do their best to present well of themselves in public, but what they do in their private lives are far from the same utopian state.

Let us recap on exactly what characteristics classifies a good leader. This is not with reference to a company manager, a state governor,  a president or so on so forth. But, in a larger sense that applies to all leaders in any field, in any state, in any country.

They are to serve their people the best they can;  they are to be compassionate about their job; they are to uphold morale standards for their people;  they are to be respectful to their people's opinions, without any they would never make a good leader.

So what if they might be able to manage their jobs well, so what if they get along with their colleagues, so what if they have good leadership qualities? Secretly, if they are doing something else behind the scenes, would all this matter? Would anyone like to have a leader that does not practice what they preach?

All leaders are subject for scrutiny through their actions taken out of office as the private lives of leaders matter to the people.

Before I move on we should stop and review: what constitutes a private life? To me, it ranges everything from hobbies to drug taking. Some would argue that this would be the equivalent of gossip, but this "gossip" is duly necessary. It helps the people better understand their leaders beyond their masks they wear when in office.

If the private life of a leader has an impact on his public standing, this is the only way people are able to judge his true character and with that respond accordingly. Therefore it is necessary to judge a leader's personal life as this is giving the right to the people to see their leaders from a holistic point of view for them to better decide who is fit to be their leaders.

Credibility must be earned. Our morals and ethics must form a seamless garment in all that we do – both publically and privately. From what I see, this is not humanly impossible. Cory Aquino who was once president of the Philippines, achieved this, being a plain housewife. Golda Meir, former prime minister of Israel, achieved this, being a plain teacher. 

If one is unable to uphold the qualities expected from a leader, one should step down immediately. Why not choose another route in life? Why must one wait to be forcibly pushed down from one's post before giving in?

Finally, I would like to leave you with this: “I do not write this to shame you, but to warn and counsel you as my beloved children.”