I am speaking very loosely indeed on this one, as the situation is in early days, and more will emerge, no doubt, of details that will skew the whole picture one way or another. Probably both.
David Petraeus did a bad thing, he cheated on his wife, a thing to deplore. Not an unusual thing, not among husbands, not among leaders of nations, not in the history of the world. Pretty damn common, actually, and it was a very common thing to do. A very human thing to do.
David Petraeus has served this country well, he is a man of greatness, in many ways. His contributions to American, to the world, perhaps, have been of note, both in his military service, and his work heading the CIA.
Only in America, this nation that grew from some life-hating seeds of Puritan ethics and judgementalism, does such a man have to commit professional and political harakiri for this kind of error in judgement.
Clinton did it, then lied and tied the country in knots for a while. He's doing okay.
Roosevelt did it, and probably everyone around him knew it, likewise, John Kennedy, but the nation only found out years later. The nation handled the news.
A number of politicians in more recent years have had affairs that were discovered, and while some of them walked away from their careers in disgrace, and lost all credibility with their public, others said, simply, Yes, I did it, it was dumb, I was dumb... and held onto their careers.
I wonder--Should this man be dismissed from his post, because of this exercise of deplorable judgement in his personal life? Suspended for a while, maybe, to sort out with his wife and family and himself, to get back on track. Can we afford to give up one of the leaders who has shown much better judgement in other areas, and kept us on track as a nation? It is not as if we actually know him or his wife or the Other Woman, or any details of the situation.
A revelation of impropriety may expose many areas of corruption in a person's life. Or it might be a complete anomaly. I am thinking, at this point, anomaly. Time will tell.
I would not have accepted David Petraeus's resignation quite yet.
David Petraeus did a bad thing, he cheated on his wife, a thing to deplore. Not an unusual thing, not among husbands, not among leaders of nations, not in the history of the world. Pretty damn common, actually, and it was a very common thing to do. A very human thing to do.
David Petraeus has served this country well, he is a man of greatness, in many ways. His contributions to American, to the world, perhaps, have been of note, both in his military service, and his work heading the CIA.
Only in America, this nation that grew from some life-hating seeds of Puritan ethics and judgementalism, does such a man have to commit professional and political harakiri for this kind of error in judgement.
Clinton did it, then lied and tied the country in knots for a while. He's doing okay.
Roosevelt did it, and probably everyone around him knew it, likewise, John Kennedy, but the nation only found out years later. The nation handled the news.
A number of politicians in more recent years have had affairs that were discovered, and while some of them walked away from their careers in disgrace, and lost all credibility with their public, others said, simply, Yes, I did it, it was dumb, I was dumb... and held onto their careers.
I wonder--Should this man be dismissed from his post, because of this exercise of deplorable judgement in his personal life? Suspended for a while, maybe, to sort out with his wife and family and himself, to get back on track. Can we afford to give up one of the leaders who has shown much better judgement in other areas, and kept us on track as a nation? It is not as if we actually know him or his wife or the Other Woman, or any details of the situation.
A revelation of impropriety may expose many areas of corruption in a person's life. Or it might be a complete anomaly. I am thinking, at this point, anomaly. Time will tell.
I would not have accepted David Petraeus's resignation quite yet.
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