The Confusing L'Affair Petraeus

The now former head of the CIA, Gen. David Petraeus, sinks because of an affair. He may have disclosed classified material to his mistress. He and the mistress, Paula Broadwell, exchanged explicit emails using anonymously established email accounts, and Broadwell used an anonymous email account to threaten another woman. Those threats ended up exposing the affair. Attach “allegedly” to all of the above since they’re part of the growing but not yet proven body of evidence that the press is bandying about.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, found out about all this through the media despite the fact that the FBI knew about the affair back in the summer. Feinstein is angry and demanding answers and worrying about the national security implications. Petraeus’ testimony in the Benghazi terrorist attack is on hold for some reason.

What’s the big deal here? Didn’t we learn during the 1990s that sex is sex and has nothing to do with one’s job performance? Didn’t we learn that it’s perfectly ok for a president to do whatever and whoever he wants? If it’s cool for a president to diddle interns and threaten government subordinates into silence and engage in his extracurriculars while ordering American troops into battle, why isn’t it cool for one of the president’s employees to go horn dog with a blabbermouth and cyberstalker? Didn’t President Obama campaign with a philanderer president, whose convention speech is said to have helped Obama win re-election?

Signed,

Confused