Did Petraeus foul the nest?

Did Petraeus foul the nest?

by digby

11/11/12:

David Gergen — a friend of Gen. David Petraeus as well as the woman he reportedly had an extra-marital affair with — said on “Face The Nation” this morning that great men have affairs — and that those relationships can be very important to them in difficult times.

“I would hope people would remember that there have been other great leaders in this country … Remember President Eisenhower, when he was General Eisenhower, Kay Summersby, how important that relationship was to him,” Gergen said.

“Remember Franklin Roosevelt and Lucy Mercer, how important that relationship was to him during the second World War.

“I think we have to be understanding that, as the saying goes,” Gergen stammered, “the best of men are still men, men at their best.”

He's not being inconsistent. Exactly ...

11/2/98:

"We have our own set of village rules," says David Gergen, editor at large at U.S. News & World Report, who worked for both the Reagan and Clinton White House. "Sex did not violate those rules. The deep and searing violation took place when he not only lied to the country, but co-opted his friends and lied to them. That is one on which people choke.

"We all live together, we have a sense of community, there's a small-town quality here. We all understand we do certain things, we make certain compromises. But when you have gone over the line, you won't bring others into it. That is a cardinal rule of the village. You don't foul the nest."


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