Al Gore Sexual Assault Allegations from Masseuse in Oregon

In a stunning development to the announcement that Al and Tipper Gore are separating after 40 years of marriage, the cause of the apparent marital discord may have been found. The National Enquirer broke the story, the Oregonian expounded upon it, and People magazine made this story mainstream about sexual assault allegations regarding former Vice President Al Gore.

A masseuse alleges that on October 24, 2006, Al Gore was given a late night massage by the woman, aged 54 at the time. The woman filed reports on January 12, 2009. The woman was torn about reporting the incident because of the humiliation. Prosecutors have said there wasn't enough evidence to file a lawsuit.

For Al Gore, his political life is already over so the damage to any politics is over. Unfortunately his personal life is likely never to recover. On June 1, 2010, the Gores announced their divorce. No one was sure as to why until now.

Sex scandals and politics are nothing new to the United States as just about every President has some kind of impropriety leveraged against him. Here are some of the most notable ones in our history.

Bill Clinton

In recent memory, no sex scandal in the White House was more investigated, expounded upon, or prevailed upon than the Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky scandal of 1997. According to tapes made by Linda Tripp, Lewinsky was 21 at the time she and Clinton started a sexual relationship in 1995.

The scandal broke in January of 1998 and by September it was reported that the Senate may take up impeachment proceedings. There were not enough votes to throw Clinton out of office even though he was charged with perjury and lying to a grand jury. If he had been, it would have been the first time an American president was thrown

John F. Kennedy

John F. Kennedy was alleged to have affairs with Marilyn Monroe. In recent declassified documents by the FBI, the Kennedy brothers all allegedly had "sex parties" with Marilyn Monroe and Frank Sinatra in New York.

Conspiracy theorists believe that the Kennedy administration may have had a hand in Monroe's death. She died on August 4, 1962, after an overdose of pills.

Thomas Jefferson

Sally Hemings was a slave owned by Thomas Jefferson who gave birth to seven children. Although he never admitted to having any affairs with the mistress, often people would proclaim that her children bore a resemblance to the President.

Genetic tests on Heming's descendants and the descendants of Jefferson's paternal uncle to determine that that Jefferson did in fact father Hemings' children. Jefferson's wife Martha only gave birth to one child who died in infancy.

No matter the time period, men in positions of power seem to be drawn to extramarital affairs. Whatever the reason, their own personal demons far outweigh any damage that may have been done to their political careers. All of these former Presidents went on with their political careers without missing a beat despite bearing the breach of trust that comes with having affairs outside of marriage.

Whether these accusations against Al Gore are true or not doesn't matter. The damage to his marriage is already done.

The National Enquirer, the Oregonian, and People magazine all contributed information for this article.