I really don't have much to say about the Petraeus resignation and scandal, except a few observations.
First, a hint to public officials everywhere: if she'd (or he'd) be out of your league if you were a civvy and both of you were in a bar, then leave it alone. Go home, jerk off and forget her. You're sixty and not particularly good looking, how long did you think it would last? And you're forty and a starry-eyed biographer. How long did YOU think it would last?
Next, Andy Borowitz had the best take on the "conspiracy" angle, by pointing out that Petraeus began the affair over a year ago, so clearly he intended to use it to distract from the Benghazi story. Petraeus can still be called as a witness in the House hearings and worse for the Obama administration, can't hide behind executive privilege or national security any longer.
Third, it's pretty sad that a man of such accomplishment and a woman of such accomplishment have created such a roadblock for themselves. I'm not going to point fingers: the second the tango began, both of them were to blame and who's to say when the music started?
My real sympathy goes out to the spouses of the couple in question, of course, but I save my deepest symapthies for Jill Kelly, the woman who triggered this whole mess -- not incorrectly -- by complaining about threatening anonymous e-mails. She gets implicated in so many ways here and I expect this will have repercussions for an apparently (there's one implication right there) uninvolved person. Think about it: she is suspected by folks of being the "other" other woman, her actions disgraced Petraeus (*ahem* No, but people will think that), her name gets dragged out through trials and investigations and she'll now have to lawyer up for what? For being the recipient of some really nasty e-mails.
Finally, I wish we'd all grow up a little and learn that power begets sex. This is an unspoken deal that politicians and their families make going in, and if you think they do not, then they're being naive and not paying attention. While the smart ones manage to stay away from it all, to ask anyone to betray their sex drive is like asking them to stop eating.
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