CIA DIRECTOR RESIGNS

[username]

I'm trying to figure out how discrediting Petraeus would benefit the current administration in the Benghazi hearings. That only seems helpful if they expected him to say things that are damning to them. Besides the affair was supposedly over by 9/11.

It wouldn't surprise me a bit though if there was some effort to keep this information quiet until after election day though. Romney would have had a field day with all this crap.

[username]

Obama and Graham today...


President Obama strongly defended U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice against attacks Wednesday by a trio of Republican senators who said she is ill-qualified to serve as secretary of state because of how she explained the roots of the Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya.
Bristling with evident indignation during a news conference, Obama said Rice has “done exemplary work” with “skill, professionalism and toughness and grace.”
He then made a pointedly and almost personal challenge to Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) who earlier Wednesday said Rice is unqualified to lead the State Department because she appeared either misinformed or ill-prepared to discuss the attack on the U.S. diplomatic post in Benghazi, on national political talk shows a few days after the attack.
“If Sen. McCain and Sen. Graham and others want to go after somebody they should go after me,” Obama said. “For them to go after the UN ambassador who had nothing to do with Benghazi…to besmirch her reputation is outrageous.”
Obama said he hasn’t made any final decisions on who to nominate to Cabinet posts in his second term, but said that he would not hesitate to nominate Rice even in the face of Republican opposition.
Graham responded to Obama’s comments by e-mail just as the press conference concluded. “Mr. President, don’t think for one minute I don’t hold you ultimately responsible for Benghazi,” Graham said in a statement. “I think you failed as Commander in Chief before, during, and after the attack.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/2cha...ly-ayotte/

[HairOfTheDog]

I'm trying to figure out how discrediting Petraeus would benefit the current administration in the Benghazi hearings. That only seems helpful if they expected him to say things that are damning to them. Besides the affair was supposedly over by 9/11.

It wouldn't surprise me a bit though if there was some effort to keep this information quiet until after election day though. Romney would have had a field day with all this crap.

I don't know if this is anything other than a juicy very high-level scandal that just happened to break right after elections and before the Benghazi hearing or not.

But, if there was some administration involvement in Petraeus's house of cards falling, the only benefit I can imagine is a wagging of the dog.

I haven't read any of the conspiracy theories outside this thread, but a dog wag in this case would mean timing the scandal purposely to divert attention from what would otherwise be of greater importance, to something/someone else of lesser significance. The lesser-significant event/person then being catapulted into the limelight, and overshadowing public attention on what/who was originally at the crux of the more important issue (or shifting focus from the very highest post down the ladder a bit to someone who was perhaps seen as about to cook his own goose anyway?).

Add: Looks like Obama is gonna stand by Rice all the way. I wonder if he really will nominate her next term?

[MikeyA]

An affair is a good reason to remove someone from that post. While not illegal unless if it started while he was still in the military, it could compromise him.

Hoover did that very thing to politicians and rivals.

Imagine if it was an enemy of the US who found out and was able to influence his actions and decisions by using that knowledge as leverage?

[HairOfTheDog]

Retired porn star Jill Kelly should thank her lucky stars General Petraeus couldn't keep it in his pants ... because his sex scandal scored Kelly a major job offer from porn giant Vivid Entertainment!!!

TMZ obtained a letter from Vivid head-honcho Steven Hirsch addressed to Kelly -- the former star of "WMB: Weapons of Masturbation" ... not Jill Kelley, the whistle blower in General Petraeus' sex scandal.

In the letter Hirsch offers Kelly a sweet deal (thanks to her name's recent exposure) ... to host a military-themed porn marathon which will air next January on VividTV -- and will feature 10 pornos from the Vivid vault.

Read more: http://www.tmz.com#ixzz2CcTdMjOb
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Well, someone's gotta actually get a career boost from this scandal, right?

[Duchess]

I think men excuse his infidelity & chalk it up to boys being boys. Would you agree?

Ex-CIA chief David Petraeus admitted he "screwed up royally" in a letter to a friend, the New York Post reports.

“I paid the price (appropriately) and I sought to do the right thing at the end of the day,” Petraeus wrote to retired Brig. Gen. James Shelton.

Petraeus also reportedly addressed his wife Holly in the letter, written November 20.

“Team Petraeus will survive though [I] have obviously created enormous difficulty for us," Petraeus wrote. "Holly is, however, once again demonstrating how incredibly fortunate I was to marry her.”

Shelton dismissed the scandal to the Post, blaming it on Petraeus' "Achilles' heel."

“He's a man, and all men have an Achilles' heel,” Shelton said.

Television evangelist Pat Robertson expressed the same view weeks before on his show, "The 700 Club."

"Who knows?" Robertson said. "The man's off in a foreign land and he's lonely and here's a good looking lady throwing herself at him. I mean, he's a man."

Story

[ramseycat]

I cannot stand how men excuse other men for screwing around. Oh poor guy. He is lonely. That is fucking bullshit. Go rub one out if you need a release. I bet The Boys Club wouldn't excuse a woman so easily for doing the same thing.

[Duchess]

The Boys Club wouldn't excuse a woman so easily for doing the same thing.

Of course not AND she'd be labeled a slut.

[HairOfTheDog]

The Boys Club wouldn't excuse a woman so easily for doing the same thing.

Of course not AND she'd be labeled a slut.

Although we don't often hear about scandalous affairs by powerful women (outside of the entertainment biz, and who really cares there?), I wouldn't be surprised if they happen regularly.

I think that powerful women have an easier time keeping things under wraps if they're smart. Their male lovers aren't as likely to go lashing out or crying out socially or publicly if they feel jealous or displaced (whiny men just don't garner the same level of sympathy or interest as female paramours, imo). Not trying to stereotype or say it's always the case, but generally speaking.

The couple of guys that claim to have had relations with Princess Diana during her marriage, for example, seem to be generally viewed as scoundrels, media whores, or liars.

[HairOfTheDog]

Last night, Barbara Walters crowned General David Petraeus as her "Most Fascinating" person of 2012.

"David Petraeus was not chosen this year for his war record or his exemplary service to his country," said Walters. "This is about military honor colliding with sex and lies in the digital age."

Full story here:
http://t.entertainment.msn.com/barbara-w...ng-of-2012



He wouldn't even have made my top 5 list...

[Duchess]

Pfft. Mine either. I haven't viewed her as a serious journalist in a long time. Jeezus...and she actually admits that the salacious nature of his fuck up was the draw.

[ramseycat]

Last night, Barbara Walters crowned General David Petraeus as her "Most Fascinating" person of 2012.

"David Petraeus was not chosen this year for his war record or his exemplary service to his country," said Walters. "This is about military honor colliding with sex and lies in the digital age."

Full story here:
http://t.entertainment.msn.com/barbara-w...ng-of-2012



He wouldn't even have made my top 5 list...

This dude's nonsense is not fascinating in the least. BW is nuts.

[username]

Rice did the right thing and took her name out of consideration for Secretary of State.

[HairOfTheDog]

Two and a half years later...



Petraeus pleaded guilty to leaking classifed information to his biographer and lover, Paula Broadwell.

The plea agreement carried a possible sentence of up to a year in prison. In court papers, prosecutors recommended two years of probation and a $40,000 fine. But Judge David Kessler increased the fine to "reflect seriousness of the offense."

Petraeus got sentenced to two years probation and a $100,000 fine.

In court, before being sentenced, Petraeus apologized "for the pain my actions have caused."

[Midwest Spy]

Wonder if Petraeus lost any of his military retirement benefits?