GOP Dreams of David Petraeus for President Crash and Burn After Affair Revelations

Last updated on February 8th, 2013 at 12:36 am

Gen. David Patraeus abruptly resigned from his position as CIA Director citing poor judgment and an extramarital affair. Thus, another Republican dream candidate for president has self destructed.

Here is Patraeus’s resignation letter from NBC News,

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Yesterday afternoon, I went to the White House and asked the President to be allowed, for personal reasons, to resign from my position as D/CIA. After being married for over 37 years, I showed extremely poor judgment by engaging in an extramarital affair. Such behavior is unacceptable, both as a husband and as the leader of an organization such as ours. This afternoon, the President graciously accepted my resignation.

As I depart Langley, I want you to know that it has been the greatest of privileges to have served with you, the officers of our Nation’s Silent Service, a work force that is truly exceptional in every regard. Indeed, you did extraordinary work on a host of critical missions during my time as director, and I am deeply grateful to you for that.

Teddy Roosevelt once observed that life’s greatest gift is the opportunity to work hard at work worth doing. I will always treasure my opportunity to have done that with you and I will always regret the circumstances that brought that work with you to an end.
Thank you for your extraordinary service to our country, and best wishes for continued success in the important endeavors that lie ahead for our country and our Agency.

With admiration and appreciation,

David H. Petraeus

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney had no comment on the circumstances surrounding the Petraeus resignation:

President Obama did release a written statement that said in part, “By any measure, he was one of the outstanding General officers of his generation, helping our military adapt to new challenges, and leading our men and women in uniform through a remarkable period of service in Iraq and Afghanistan, where he helped our nation put those wars on a path to a responsible end.”

Petraeus’s name has long been a favorite to toss around in Republican circles. Most recently, there was speculation surrounding whether or not Mitt Romney would select him as his running mate. Some Republicans viewed him as a future presidential candidate, despite the fact that the General has referred to himself as a moderate Rockefeller Republican.

Of all the names being floated around as the first to leave the second Obama administration, Petraeus was not one of them. It is a bit of an out of the blue shock that he abruptly resigned, but it is also the move of a man who was trying to get ahead of a story that would have been a reputation destroying scandal.

Instead of dragging the president into his personal mess, Gen. Petraeus did the honorable thing and resigned.

A long career in public service has come to an abrupt end, and the Republican dreams of a political savior arriving from the military are dead and gone.



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