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Ben Stein's Diary

An Embarrassment to the Nation

By on 11.12.12 @ 6:10AM

How did Obama and Petraeus keep their scandal secret?

General David Petraeus is roughly one thousand times the man I am. He is braver, tougher, more self-sacrificing, smarter, more unselfish, more patriotic, far more disciplined, apparently able to keep up sexually with a woman twenty years younger than he is who is also an Ironman woman superstar. He is almost a superman. But not quite.

Now, let me get this straight: I do not think a man usually should have been fired for having sex with a woman not his wife. To me, that is just what men and women do. It is a part of life. But this is a highly unusual situation in every way.

Let’s look at it from the point of view of how General Petraeus represented himself to President Obama and to the White House. When a man or woman is considered for high office, he or she is asked the following question (I know because I was considered for a modest government position several years ago and I was asked it, or a paraphrase), “Are you now doing or have you ever done anything which, if known, would cause embarrassment to the Administration, to the President, or to the nation? If you are doing so in the future, will you tell the responsible officials in the government?”

Obviously, David Petraeus lied in answer to that question. He was having an affair with a married woman while married himself. It now looks as if he might have had more than one affair going simultaneously. He did not divulge it when it happened and he did not divulge it until the FBI forced his hand.

This is a disgrace to him and to his office. It also shows he is a liar and liable to blackmail. I may be wrong here, but is it not a felony to lie to the FBI?

The whole affair came to light because Director Petraeus apparently gave his girlfriend, Paula Broadwell, access to his password for his computer, or allowed her to get it through negligence. On the computer there were classified documents. General Petraeus either did not know this had happened, which would be a disgrace, or knew about it and covered it up — also a disgrace.

The Director of Central Intelligence is one of the most important jobs in the world. To have the incumbent handle it so carelessly is deeply disturbing. It is, sadly, of a piece with his lethal miscues in Libya. What could he possibly have been thinking? What kind of incompetence is going on here? This is terrifying.

Then there is a further issue. The second woman in this case, a State Department official, reported the threatening e-mails from Paula Broadwell months ago. The FBI apparently found out about the affair months ago, and that the security of the office of DCI had been breached. It is inconceivable that no one at the FBI told the White House or the A.G. about these serious concerns before this week. It just could not have happened that way. That is not how the world works

That means the White House and/or the A.G. knew for some time before the election that a scandal of major proportions was about to hit the CIA. The President knew before the election, in other words, and so did David Petraeus, that this furor was about to break.

How did they keep it secret? What did Attorney General Holder do to keep the lid on his FBI? What kind of possibly corrupt bargain did Mr. Obama make with Gen. Petraeus to go easy on him over Benghazi if Gen. Petraeus would keep quiet about his impending disgrace? What promises, winks, and nods were given and received?

It now looks as if the cover-up over CIA incompetence is a bigger story every day. Of course, the MSM will barely touch it because it reflects poorly on their man. But it’s a depressing story of old time corruption from the administration that made the now laughable promise of “hope and change.”

Now what? Thank heavens the GOP still has the House. There is a lot of investigating to be done. I am not sure we can count on Harry Reid.

About the Author

Ben Stein is a writer, actor, economist, and lawyer living in Beverly Hills and Malibu. He writes “Ben Stein’s Diary” for every issue of The American Spectator.

Letter to the Editor View all comments (181) |

Oatley| 11.12.12 @ 6:20AM

The MSM are "all in" for the Liberal agenda, no matter the irony. Their bias has become cultural. Their narrative is full of framing and anchoring techniques well known to psychology and permeates "normal" reporting. In short, it is trained behavior.

But don't ever give up, Ben.

TLP| 11.12.12 @ 8:41AM

What's the problem?

Did he Pull his Pants down and tell some Gal to Kiss his Willey?

Did he RAPE anybody?

Did he have an 11 Year Extra-Marital Affair during his first 12 Years of Marriage?

Did he LIE to a Federal Grand Jury?

Was he using one end of this Broad as a Humidor for his Cigar, while he used the other end for something else?

Were his Actions any more BLACKMAILABLE, then those of PRESIDENT Bill Clinton, and his Phone Sex Partner?

General Petreous needs to be left alone so he can go back to doing the work of the American People.

I'm sick the Fck to Death of the Double Standard.

cowgirl| 11.12.12 @ 9:00AM

My first thoughts were similar to yours. After Bill "I did not have sex with that WOMAN" Clinton's sexual peanuts gallery behavior, who the hell cares about it.
America's leader are nothing more than immoral crackheads. We are almost at the bottom of the slippery slope.

PJ| 11.12.12 @ 9:01AM

I personally don't care who Petraeus f*cks. I do have a problem with him giving access to his files to a subordinate who doesn't have the same security clearance. Apparently she may have used information obtained files in a public speech. The CIA Director's name sounds most apropo (Betray us).

You're usually a smart guy. Why didn't you see beyond the sleaze?

TLP| 11.12.12 @ 2:13PM

As opposed to Obama giving Unlimited Access to a Movie Producer, to TOP SECRET INFORMATION in the Bin Laden Mission?

Or, Bill Clinton signing a Waiver for the #1 Contributor to the Democrat Party, so he could Sell TOP SECRET Navigation Technology to the Red Chinese for their Nuclear Missiles. The same Red Chinese who ALSO gave Hundreds of Thousand$ in ILLEGAL CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS, to Bill Clinton in the 1996 Election.

Usually, you're Smarter than that.

Why can't you see the SIMILARITIES, and the DOUBLE STANDARD?

PJ| 11.12.12 @ 3:06PM

We hold our officers to a higher standard. Petraeus' lapse in judgement is independent of Obama's & Clinton's evils.

Petraeus knew what he was getting into when he took the CIA job. He still compromised military secrets. I do not feel sorry for him.

BTW, I was one of the few in the 1990s who called for Clinton's head many times to my House Rep. Did you?

And I'm writing to my elected congressional members for the incumbent's impeachent & removal, not that it will do much since they're all progressive democrats. What are you doing besides screaming about double standards?

Instead of living in the past why don't you do something constructive for the present going into the future?

TLP| 11.12.12 @ 4:58PM

Obama and Clinton was, and IS the Commander in Chief.

I would think that they should be held at an even HIGHER STANDARD.

But, that's just me.

And, you can stick your Holier than Thou Bullsh*t up your @ss, with your Dwelling in the past, Crap.

I am doing something constructive for the Present, and the Future, by teaching Dumbfcks, like you, the way it is.

Or, hadn't you noticed?

TLP| 11.12.12 @ 5:00PM

And, I never said that I fell sorry for him.

I just don't like the MFing Double Standards, where Democrats are Concerned. Robert Menendez.

Apparently, you don't have any such qualms.

EH| 11.12.12 @ 5:29PM

The position of US President is an elected position. The standards are whatever a majority of the electoral college decide them to be at the moment they vote.

Director of the CIA, of the FBI, military officers and other high ranking positions are employees. The standards for those office are whatever the current US President decides.

Nomadc| 11.12.12 @ 6:23PM

Impeachment and removal of our current president on what grounds? Last time I checked, there were no laws on the books stating that the FBI, CIA, State Department, Attorney General or the White House was required to publicly disclosed any ongoing investigation. Maybe the White House sat on this information and maybe it didn't. Regardless of which might be the case, there are no grounds for impeachment here except your ongoing outrage that you lost this (and the last) election.

Bob From District 9| 11.12.12 @ 6:58PM

Can you prove one word of what you said?

Brubaker| 11.12.12 @ 10:56AM

You're really missing the point. As Ben very clearly explained, the central issue has nothing whatever to do with sexual peccadillos. It appears that Petraeous may at a minimum be guilty of dereliction of duty; he may also be guilty of participating in the coverup of a command failure that led to the deaths of four Americans.

Those are not issues to be cavalierly brushed aside. Petraeous needs to take a job with some beltway bandit and get on with his life--but his days of "doing the work of the American People" are over.

TLP| 11.12.12 @ 11:31AM

I'm not "Missing" anything. (Do I have to start writing these in Crayon)

Petraeous Fckd Up. He also saved our Ass in Iraq.

JFK Fckd Around. Right?

He gets a Pass.

Bill Clinton is a RAPIST. He's a Pathological Liar, and a Serial Misogenyst. He Violated our Campaign Finance Laws, and he gave out a Waiver to his Best Buddy - Bernhard Schwartz - and his Company - Loral Space - so that he could sell The Red Chinese, the Super Secret Navigational Technologies that they now use, as we speak, to Target our Cities with their ICBMs.

Last I looked?

Bill Clinton was STILL the Toast of the Town, and the other cause of any Erections Chris Mathews might have.

I'm not gonna throw one of our Greatest Generals under the bus for falling prey to some Young Piece of @ss, with a Nice Rack, and a Pretty Face.

That's why we call'em B*tches.

From Lilith, to Matahari, to Kim Khardashian.

I'll say it, again: I'm sick the Fck, of the Double Standards.

Now, imagine all those letters in different Colours.

spike59| 11.12.12 @ 2:01PM

(Do I have to start writing these in Crayon)
-------------------------------------------------
possibly, most 3rd grade thinking looks better in crayon, actually-David Petraeus needs to be frog-marched into a military courtroom, tried and convicted, and sentenced to a long stretch in Leavenworth

TLP| 11.12.12 @ 5:02PM

But not Clinton.

Fck you.

Nomadc| 11.12.12 @ 6:26PM

Hey, little boy. I think I hear your mommy calling you to dinner. Better run along now and let the rest of the grown-up discuss among themselves.

spike59| 11.13.12 @ 5:59AM

yes, Clinton, too, you freaking CRETIN-go Fck yourself, turd-brain

nickoury| 11.12.12 @ 5:36PM

Whoa, hold on a minute TLPpy! "Pretty Face", in this case, is quite a stretch.
Have you ever seen the actor who plays "Dennis Reynolds" in the FX show "It's always Sunny in Philadelphia"? Talk about separated at birth, Broadwell and Glenn Howerton could easily be considered TWINS, or possibly even the SAME person. Don't take my word for it, look for yourself:
http://www.fxnetworks.com/sunn.....isreynolds

aquanomics| 11.12.12 @ 11:00AM

"....I'm sick the Fck to Death of the Double Standard."

Then let's impose a single standard. For lack of a better term, a morals clause you swear to that constitutes a jailable offense if broken.

I know quite a few married couples, all of whom are faithful to their spouses. These folks have character, Petraeus has none.

TLP| 11.12.12 @ 2:02PM

We already HAVE a single Standard.

That's the Point.

TLP| 11.12.12 @ 2:20PM

Idiot.

aquanomics| 11.12.12 @ 2:47PM

Bite me, pussy.

TLP| 11.12.12 @ 5:03PM

Bite your own Pussy.

I SERVED, dickhead.

Did you?

RCV| 11.12.12 @ 11:28AM

Agree with TLP. (Did I just say that?)

TLP| 11.12.12 @ 2:00PM

You just need to put the Bong down before you write, from now on.

Drunken Sailor| 11.12.12 @ 4:35PM

Yep and I circled the date on the calendar. Unbelievable.

TLP| 11.12.12 @ 5:04PM

He's like a Broken Clock.

Every now and then, he gets one right,

Just, don't hold your breath.

Bob From District 9| 11.12.12 @ 7:04PM

I'm sick the Fck to Death of the invention of criminal accusations against Clinton. He behaved irresponsibly, but not one criminal accusation you made has ever been shown to be even believable, lestwise true.

USArmyRanger| 11.12.12 @ 7:56PM

Let me see now. How many people did Clinton have "taken" care of who knew the truth about him. Criminal actions? How about what he did at the Media Air Port in his home state. How about allowing Rangers to get killed in Somalia while he was being taken care of by Monica. And how about the cover up of Vince Foster's death. Bob, you are apparently lost in the fog.

philippic| 11.14.12 @ 9:33AM

you mean like lying to a federal grand jury?

USArmyRanger| 11.12.12 @ 7:54PM

Petraeus is done and he knows it. He might become an adviser for some business. He will be extremely lucky if he does not get busted a few stars or face criminal action, if he lies to Congress. Best he come up with the truth regarding Benghazi such as his boss, the president, told him to stand down. And that is closer to the truth than anything else.

philippic| 11.14.12 @ 9:34AM

I get your point....why stop at sex? the double standard covers a broad swath of turpitude?

C. Vernon Crisler | 11.12.12 @ 10:39AM

If anything, this whole thing reminds me of the case of Lisa Nowak, who tried to take revenge on a rival. One expects this sort of behavior from people who go on trash-talk daytime TV shows but one doesn't expect this sort of behavior from professionals.

From Wikipedia:
Nowak gained international attention on February 5, 2007, when she was arrested in Orlando, Florida, and subsequently charged with the attempted kidnapping of U.S. Air Force Captain Colleen Shipman, who was romantically involved with astronaut William Oefelein.

Nowak drove from Houston to Orlando, Florida, on February 4–5, 2007. She packed latex gloves, a black wig, a BB pistol and ammunition, pepper spray, a hooded tan trench coat, a 2-pound drilling hammer, black gloves, rubber tubing, plastic garbage bags, approximately $585 (USD) in cash, her computer, an 8-inch (20 cm) Gerber folding knife and several other items before driving the 900 miles (1,400 km) to Florida. Early police reports indicated she wore diapers during the trip, but she later denied wearing them.[19][20] On February 5, 2007, Nowak went to the Orlando International Airport, waited for about an hour in the baggage claim, and then proceeded to the airport parking lot, where she located and confronted Shipman, who had just arrived from Houston by plane.

Butch| 11.12.12 @ 5:29PM

I also thought of that. The good general must be basically a boy scout who has led a rather sheltered life. Apparently, no one ever told him--and he certainly obviously learned the hard way, until now--that the best ones are always crazy.

Butch| 11.12.12 @ 7:05PM

. . . never obviously learned

bigtimejones| 11.12.12 @ 10:41AM

When Clinton led, he was not moral and everyone complained. President Obama is a wonderful family man, and everyone complains. When it comes to morality, let he who is without sin cast the first stone.

TLP| 11.12.12 @ 5:06PM

He's a Fckng Homo, and a well know visitor to the Gay Bathhouses in Chicago.

Good Family Man.

He's a Scumbag, like you.

Vance P. Frickey| 11.13.12 @ 4:45AM

President Barack Obama's family life has no bearing on his having ordered or been complicit in the sending of assault weapons to Mexican drug gangs, his having belonged (with his wonderful family) for several years to a church whose minister is a virulent racist, his concealment from Congress of information pertaining to Operation Fast and Furious (under the specious grounds of "executive privilege," when the true motive is obviously "obstruction of justice," and now his and Attorney General Eric Holder's causing the FBI to retain General Petraeus as Director of Central Intelligence inappropriately and withhold information related to his fitness for office from Senator Dianne Feinstein, the Chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Vance P. Frickey| 11.13.12 @ 4:50AM

correcting an error above - should have read ' obviously "obstruction of justice,") and his retention of General Petraeus as Director of Central Intelligence inappropriately and withhold information related to his fitness for office from Senator Dianne Feinstein, the Chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee.'

bigtimejones| 11.12.12 @ 10:44AM

Oatley: You keep saying this over and over and it just isn't true. You cannot make things up. You said the polls were skewed. You said Governor Romney would win in a landslide. You said the President was a Communist, a Socialist, a Muslim, and not an American. You are being hornswiggled by your own media. Please -- wake up.

USArmyRanger| 11.12.12 @ 8:00PM

Time for me to jump in. Obama stated that he was a Muslim. Obama stated that he would side with the Muslims. He stated that the most beautiful sound he ever hears was the call of the "muslim" in the morning. I forgot what it is called. Obama was raised by a communist family. He was not born in America so how can he be an American. And yes, Rev Wright arranged it so he could visit the gay house in Chicago. Where ya been Jonesy baby?

BobSledd| 11.12.12 @ 6:26AM

Amen, Ben.

I think you touched every possible base here.

God help us is right if this is what the Best of the Best actually is.

I just hope we as a people still have the attention span necessary and the Repubs have the backbone to pursue this to wherever it leads.

bigtimejones| 11.12.12 @ 10:33AM

If you used more sense than the pseudo backbone, perhaps you would realize that Ben is way off here.

Numerian| 11.12.12 @ 6:29AM

I'm sorry, but this is not "an embarrassment to the nation". To be embarrassed requires shame, which is derived from a basic understanding of right and wrong. The Left eschews traditional Judeo-Christian values, and so feels no sense of shame about ANYTHING.

bigtimejones| 11.12.12 @ 11:54AM

How is the General the responsibility of the left? He was the darling of the right, but this is besides the point. It is General Petraeus who must deal with his behavior. You are not his judge.

USArmyRanger| 11.12.12 @ 8:03PM

It would not surprise me if Axlerod didn't dig up this broad and get her to lie. He is good at doing that. He and obama are the worst in this nation.

Appleby| 11.12.12 @ 6:31AM

One more man who can't keep his pants zipped. Same song, 1,000th verse.

Kitty | 11.12.12 @ 7:04AM

DITTOS.

I am so angry over this latest edition of zippergate. Are there no people of good moral character left who can lead our country?

Bob From District 9| 11.12.12 @ 7:09PM

Yes, but such men never would have invaded Iraq, would not be accusing Iran of having a nuclear weapons program against all evidence, would not tolerate the oppression of the Palestinian people, and would most certainly not be falsely accusing Obama in the Benghazi attack.

You would not like a truly moral person leading this country.

Romney most certainly is not such a man.

USArmyRanger| 11.12.12 @ 8:03PM

Long live the insane.

SUBVET| 11.12.12 @ 9:08AM

And........she had not skin in the game.

Typical comment from a feminazi.........

SUBVET| 11.12.12 @ 9:09AM

Ahhhhh that would be NO....

SUBVET| 11.12.12 @ 9:09AM

SKIN...

Appleby| 11.12.12 @ 3:14PM

I AM A UNITED STATES CITIZEN TEMPORARILY LIVING IN CANADA. I WILL BE RETURNING TO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA IN MARCH 2013. YOU BET YOUR SKINNY BACKSIDE I'VE GOT SKIN IN THIS GAME. There, can you read that? I've said the same thing about 1,000 times over the course of this election round; it's no bloody wonder y'all can't focus long enough to pick a candidate that's got real support instead of coughing up yet another "electable" character that loses yet another election.

Vstarrider| 11.12.12 @ 7:01PM

Do you suppose that the General could have been doing his Broad Well during the Benghazi fiasco. Maybe nobody at the CIA was in charge for those seven hours.

Bob From District 9| 11.12.12 @ 7:32PM

Only an idiot would expect someone in Washington to command a defense in a country thousands of miles away. The commander on the scene has to be in command, not someone on the other side of the world.

Any commander who asks permission to defend his people should get that permission along with instructions that he will resign.

USArmyRanger| 11.12.12 @ 8:06PM

I knew it. I knew it. You have no idea. When there is an international incident only the president can give the order to go or not to go.

Joellen| 11.12.12 @ 7:03AM

The national media needs to be held on Treason against this country. They continue to aid and abet this current administrations many, many crimes against America. Where are the constitutional attorneys - can they, with all the abounding evidence, start a lawsuit against this media? Something to think about.

Von Mises Jr| 11.12.12 @ 7:09AM

If the mistress Broadwell is correct and that Benghazi is a secret CIA prison and combining this with "Fast and Furious," this administration makes "Tricky Dicky" Nixon look like a Choir Boy.

PJ| 11.12.12 @ 9:45AM

I like you so I will tell you what the entire problem is with this Benghazi situation according to my perspective, even Stein didn't get it completely & it has nothing to do with the sex sleaze factor.
PART 1
The incumbent ordered in January 2009 to close the secret CIA prisons. See http://www.breitbart.com/Big-G.....orcements.

Petraeus gave access of his files that contained more than biographical information to a person who does not have security clearance.

She may have thought the information was declassified so she shared it with the public in a speech innocently or to get even with her philandering lover. Is this rich or what? Her speech exposed that Obama is a liar, which we all knew but just as important is that Petraeus (pronounced "Betray us") sacrifices classified information for the sake of his ego, his d*ck, his country, & his wife.

PJ| 11.12.12 @ 9:52AM

PART 2
Finally, the incumbent knew about this information before the election, at least it is leaning in that direction. If the public found out before the election, the naive progressives who claim to love peace would have been less inclined to vote for him or at least sit it out. It should have been the true October surprise instead of Hurricane Sandy.

That in a nutshell is the entire tragedy.

Maybe, just maybe he wil be impeached & kicked out of office. Too me, the crackpot, Biden, is hell of a lot better.

Bob From District 9| 11.12.12 @ 7:34PM

Your accusations are unproven, and almost certainly false. Until you have some evidence you are the crackpot, a conspiracy theorist.

USArmyRanger| 11.12.12 @ 8:09PM

Hey Bob, there is a place for your head. Try putting it into a barrel filled with molasses because it is apparent that it where it has been for quite a long time. I was a Counterintelligence Agent for a long long time. I can put things together. How about you? What have you done successfully. Have you ever written a book?

R Martin| 11.12.12 @ 8:09AM

"I am not sure we can count on Harry Reid."

What?! You're SURE taxes must be raised, but you're NOT SURE "we" can count on Harry Reid. Sometimes I wonder why I read your stuff, but then I remember I also glance at highway wrecks as I pass them.

EastTexasRancher| 11.12.12 @ 8:10AM

Dear Mr. Stein,
Congress is now irrelevant. In 2009 Rush Limbaugh warned them to watch out because soon they would be irrelevant to Obama. And now they are. Nothing will happen of any consequence. Sadly.

Cobalt| 11.12.12 @ 8:16AM

Another scandal for Obama?

No problem.

Unfortunately, there will never be 67 votes to impeach Obama in the U.S. Senate.

CrackerHound| 11.12.12 @ 8:47AM

First the pathetic and ongoing actions of the Secret service, now the head of the CIA resigns in disgrace. The CIA is the same agency that brought us the WMD fiasco and a verdict of "no clue" on the Arab Spring.

One week after the re-election of Obama and all he represents; is anyone else sensing in a clear and dramatic fashion, an end to the America we grew up in?

I mean this has a REAL fall of Rome feeling to it.

PJ| 11.12.12 @ 10:04AM

You're absolutely correct; it does have that real feel of Rome falling. To be a little optimistic, the people did survive but under a different government.

bigtimejones| 11.12.12 @ 11:49AM

But your media always says Rome is falling -- except when Republicans are in charge.

PJ| 11.12.12 @ 12:00PM

Anyone with half a brain can see the signs. Obviously you can't !

Bob From District 9| 11.12.12 @ 7:36PM

They ignore one of the big causes of the fall of Rome. The rich avoided paying taxes.

Add in importing immigrants to man the military instead of citizens. Today illegal immigrants hired by conservative business people to replace Americans, and you have a formula for national collapse.

USArmyRanger| 11.12.12 @ 8:13PM

The fall of Rome was the nonrecognition of Christ (God). The democrat party this election ousted God from their platform. And that will be the cause of our downfall. Did you know that it was/is the democrat party that championed slavery and it was the Muslims that began slavery? Probably not but there is evidence to prove that.

Bill8472| 11.13.12 @ 8:51AM

Christianity was recognized in Rome in the early 4th Century A.D. It eventually became the most-favored religion in Rome, with all pagan religions actively suppressed, and remained that way (even through a couple of hostile Caesars) until the Roman Empire finally fell late in the 5th Century.

Cobalt| 11.12.12 @ 10:17AM

"America Votes to End Modern Civilization"

By Daren Jonescu

http://www.americanthinker.com.....ation.html

bigtimejones| 11.12.12 @ 10:33AM

So was the Ground Zero mosque controversy, but you lived through it. so was the debt ceiling, but you lived through it. so was Shariah law and the coming cliphate, but you lived through it. Whether you will be able to live through the duplicity of your own media is another story.

PoliticalPaige | 11.12.12 @ 9:17AM

Perhaps Mr. Stein should turn this around. He assumes that Obama is covering for the errors of Petraeus in Benghazi, in return for Petraeus delaying the announcement of "his disgrace". It is more likely that Petraeus agreed to cover for the abject failure of Mr. Obama as Commander in Chief in return for keeping his personal secrets. Which would explain why Petraeus went public with his failures immediately before he had to continue that "cover" under oath before Congress. A mutual agreement for cover and support often stops just short of exposure to felony perjury.

SUBVET| 11.12.12 @ 9:21AM

The CIA is at every fiasco weather it is to cover up or cover it's own tracks...think about it.

EVERYONE.........just maybe they are invloved in some way.

Benghazi.........think GUNS
911...
twin towers 1st time
Iran/contra
fast & furious
afganistan/drugs
any false flag
Kennedy

I could go on but you get the picture

Bob From District 9| 11.12.12 @ 7:40PM

Fool!

Benghazi: too many foreign operations have been privatized, thanks to the right wingers.

Twin Towers first and second times: The CIA is not involved in domestic counter terrorism. Or wasn't until Bush II took over.

Iran/Contra: Reagan all the way.

Fast &Furious;: A continuation of a Bush administration ATF operation, no CIA involvement.

Afghanistan/Drugs: More Bush II failure.

Any False Flag: Right wing support of Israel and the war against Islam.

Kennedy: When you try to assassinate Castro 5 times and fail, why wouldn't you expect him to try once. Success was the suprise.

Butch| 11.12.12 @ 7:50PM

Thank you, Bob From Area 51. Very objective analysis.

Bob Grant| 11.12.12 @ 9:28PM

Look Plan 9 From Outer Space:

You can give us 200 bullet points but it would not take away from the fact that you are a clueless moron and liar.

for instance, "..Fast &Furious;: A continuation of a Bush administration ATF operation, no CIA involvement."

It was NOT a continuation of a Bush Administration operation. Your are referring to Operation Wide Receiver which was shut down immediately because it didn't work. The tracking devices were not reliable among other things.

So what did Holdem and Foldem along with the administration do? They - as they are want to do - doubled down on a failed program by beginning a new, even more disastrous one.

No tracking devices, No coordination with the Mexican government, Used many, many more guns, and made no attempts to track the guns.

A little research before you blast us with a bogus bullet point presentation.

USArmyRanger| 11.12.12 @ 8:15PM

Yeah, all except the word weather. Shouldn't it be whether.... and from there you might have a little problem with the rest of your story.

gene| 11.12.12 @ 9:57AM

It is now illegal to lie to the FBI. If you tell the FBI you did not do something, instead of just remaining silent, or if they can prove you told them something that is not true, you CAN INDEED be prosecuted for a crime.

SUBVET| 11.12.12 @ 11:42AM

Gene........just who is going to prosecute them....Holder ?

Ya right.........

gene| 11.13.12 @ 10:58AM

I did not say anything about prosecution. I just stated a fact that it IS a crime.
However, now that you brought it up, IF you are in the way of a Holder or an Obama, and you do not get OUT of the way? You would indeed get prosecuted.

RandyH| 11.12.12 @ 10:10AM

Dissappointed with your stance that a man should not be fired for infidelity....for such a high position it is a serious breach of trust.
Also dissappointed that you believe the Republicants will actually act on this(Bengahzi) scandal. They have shown a willingness to pursue scandal but lack fortitude to follow up i.e. Fast and Furious.

Bob From District 9| 11.12.12 @ 7:41PM

To the republicans this is all politics.

Republican Morals is a contradiction in terms.

Craigpurcell| 11.12.12 @ 10:19AM

Ben,

Eric Cantor knew the details On October 31st.

It seems like Paula is giving us the best details on an inside look to date as a writer/journalist -- which btw should do wonders for her book sales.

See Univ. of Denver alumni talk at link below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPaf5OJSskY

jneider| 11.12.12 @ 10:21AM

Just because someone in the White House or the AG's office might have known about an ongoing investigation doesn't mean anybody had the nerve to tell the President. I can easily see aides saying "he's got enough on his mind right now, let's wait until we know for sure", hoping Patraeus would be cleared or the story could wait until after the election. Happens every day in organizations big & small, public and private. Nothing to see here, move along...

StanAmSpec| 11.13.12 @ 1:26PM

Obama is President Logan from 24. He Administration is a season of 24. It's horrible.

jneider| 11.12.12 @ 10:21AM

Just because someone in the White House or the AG's office might have known about an ongoing investigation doesn't mean anybody had the nerve to tell the President. I can easily see aides saying "he's got enough on his mind right now, let's wait until we know for sure", hoping Patraeus would be cleared or the story could wait until after the election. Happens every day in organizations big & small, public and private. Nothing to see here, move along...

jneider| 11.12.12 @ 10:21AM

Just because someone in the White House or the AG's office might have known about an ongoing investigation doesn't mean anybody had the nerve to tell the President. I can easily see aides saying "he's got enough on his mind right now, let's wait until we know for sure", hoping Patraeus would be cleared or the story could wait until after the election. Happens every day in organizations big & small, public and private. Nothing to see here, move along...

spike59| 11.13.12 @ 6:04AM

i guess you're a proponent of the 'Tell a whopper often enough, and people might actually start believing it...'

if you actually believe that Eric Holder, who knew about this whole affair back in the summer, never mentioned it to the POTUS, you're delusional at best, flat-out dumb as a stump at worst

bigtimejones| 11.12.12 @ 10:22AM

Come on Ben. In your desire to uphold your extraordinary income, you are willing to mislead your readers into thinking that the President has something to do with this? You need to read David Frum and put the country before your own interests.

Bob From District 9| 11.12.12 @ 7:42PM

Ben Stein has been dishonest and incompetent for a long time. Perhaps for all his life.

USArmyRanger| 11.12.12 @ 8:17PM

Out of the mouths of liberals comes the truth?

C Smith | 11.12.12 @ 10:29AM

”Just what men and women do"? Seem to remember a command and a proverb from your heritage:

"Thou shalt not commit adultery" (Exodus 20:14).

"With her much fair speech she caused him to yield, with the flattering of her lips she forced him. He goeth after her straightway, as an ox goeth to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction of the stocks; Till a dart strike through his liver; as a bird hasteth to the snare, and knoweth not that it is for his life.... Let not thine heart decline to her ways, go not astray in her paths. For she hath cast down many wounded: yea, many strong men have been slain by her. Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death" (Pro 7:21-27).

Lyneuss Fields | 11.12.12 @ 10:29AM

America's media really builds up the credibility of these sex crazed, stinkpot generals, huh? You threw a lot of hypothetical arguments into the pot in this article Ben. But here are some facts! Anyone who can use Google knows Ms. Paula Broadwell—In addition to being a biographer—also attended West Point and is currently an Army reserve major. So now we find out she was jealous, pissed off and had the general's E-mail password to "highly" classified information? All this cloak and dagger shit really gives me an f'n headache.
http://lyneussfields.blogspot......ative.html

Ned the Red| 11.12.12 @ 10:40AM

Yesterday, when replacing the tinfoil in my hat, (I always change the tinfoil liner in my hat on Sunday) I was struck with a thought:

Why did Chief Justice John Roberts vote to allow Obamacare, especially with his unique twisting of words?
Was General Petraues being blackmailed? Did he disarm his extortionist by releasing the threatening information?
Has Secretary Clinton’s old marital protective methods of coercion melded with the Chicago Way?

I put my hat back on, with new tinfoil, and immediately felt that none of the thoughts had any merit. After all, this is America; would the ruling administration stoop so low as to blackmail the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and also the Director of the CIA? No way, not a chance.

JAFV| 11.13.12 @ 5:52AM

Brilliant. This comment should receive the widest possible coverage. Of course, it won't. Nevertheless, right on, brother Ned.

Bill8472| 11.12.12 @ 10:47AM

I keep telling myself not to let this political stuff get to me, then I read that David Patraeus somehow allowed his adulterous partner (both of them former careerists in a profession that places high value on personal honor and integrity, I might add) to obtain the password to a computer that contains secret information of a national character, the FBI finds about that, and the President isn't notified, or, if notified does nothing until after the election?

I promised myself that I'd let things go on after the election turned out so badly, I promised I'd do that. Shut up, Bill, shut up.

Bill8472| 11.12.12 @ 10:49AM

Oh, one other thing: Ben, I know you're an actor and that Hollywood has its effect, but I would like to remind you of James Agee's line from his screenplay of The African Queen: "Human nature, Mr. Allnutt, is what God puts us on earth to rise above."

PJ| 11.12.12 @ 11:09AM

Thank God someone is starting to get it! I was starting to feel a little lonely

Hardcard| 11.12.12 @ 11:22AM

who rattled your cage Benny? take a long nap.

fblaze| 11.12.12 @ 11:28AM

Thoughtful article, but its a little early. The facts are still being developed. The second woman was not a State Department Employee. Apparently, she was a social volunteer to a military base and happened to have a friend in the FBI.

fblaze| 11.12.12 @ 11:30AM

The general kept it secret by not telling anyone. the President kept it secret by not knowing about it. Two Republican Congressmen did know about it before the election and they chose to keep it secret.

Aristocat| 11.12.12 @ 8:58PM

Your comments are reasonable, unlike many on this site..Who were the Republicans who knew about this?

Frank Drackman| 11.12.12 @ 11:50AM

You'd think the DCI would use something more sophistocated than plain old e-mail to communicate with a POA...

Frank

vtwin| 11.12.12 @ 12:35PM

The Reagans, Ronald and Nancy, were married on March 4, 1952. Their daughter Patti was born seven months later, on Oct. 21, 1952.

dumbingdownofamerica| 11.12.12 @ 5:52PM

FYI....many babies are born 2 months premature. Ours was, and it was a perfectly natural birth, and no hanky panky. Just thought you should know.

John Navratil| 11.12.12 @ 6:17PM

My wife was born two months premature. Because she had an older brother, no one even knew about the timing.

CJW| 11.12.12 @ 6:58PM

vtwin, what is your point, would you be happy if they aborted Patti?

spike59| 11.13.12 @ 6:09AM

as a true 'progressive', vtwin would have been DEE-LIGHTED if they aborted Patti in the name of 'choice'

spike59| 11.13.12 @ 6:07AM

...and? did Reagan ever rape anyone? (Bill Clinton) did Reagan ever leave a secretary to die a slow and agonizing death while he ran off to preserve his career and 'sleep one off?' (Ted Kennedy)

Dave Williams| 11.12.12 @ 12:44PM

Sorry, but any nation capable of idolizing the Kardashians (puke) and Honey Boo Boo (double puke) is incapable of embarrassment. Sad to see the wreckage of a once-great country all around us...the best thing to do is ignore the lamestream media, stock up ammo and food, and cultivate your own garden.

Fred Gamble| 11.12.12 @ 1:16PM

Mr. Stein,
you have no proof of any of the accucation you make. Not one source that says the AG knew. Not one source that says the White House knew. Sources have been sited that says Eric Cantor knew two weeks ago, but you never mentioned that. Don't you think your article is irresponsible?

Oatley| 11.12.12 @ 1:54PM

Turn your eyes on the media and behold. Without them this clown zobama and his three ring circus wouldn't have been elected then re-elected.

bigtimejones| 11.12.12 @ 2:52PM

Oatley is almost correct: without the lies spread by the conservative media, the Obama voters would not have been as inspired to wait in the voter suppressed lines. but we did and elected Obama.

USArmyRanger| 11.12.12 @ 8:24PM

bigtime you must have your headphones on the wrong ears. I am quite certain it was obama who told all the lies and spread the untruths. And you did not elect obama. There was wide spread fraud. How come Romney did not get even 1 vote in a an area in Philadelphia, not even one. And how about several counties in Ohio where Romney didn't get even one vote. And then we have Florida, oh yeah, Florida. Such fraud. You liberals are nothing but fraud.

spike59| 11.13.12 @ 6:11AM

you mean those 'voter-suppressed lines' in FL Democrat precincts where 144% of registered voters were able to cast a vote? or the 'voter supressed lines' in Philly where, out of over 19 THOUSAND votes cast in 59 wards, not ONE vote was recorded for the GOP????

djn1313| 11.12.12 @ 2:35PM

There is no bigger corrupt leader in this nation than obama. He has lied for four years and has no intention to stop misleading the American people. He is pure EVIL.

bigtimejones| 11.12.12 @ 2:50PM

The facts and fact checkers do not agree with you.

USArmyRanger| 11.12.12 @ 8:25PM

OK, let me see. Snopes is run by a man and his wife and they are both very liberal. Facts.org is another liberal site. Anybody else you want me to check out?

Pete Esq| 11.12.12 @ 8:28PM

If we conservatives continue to live in an alternate universe from the rest of the nation, then we will never win national elections. FactCheck.org and Snopes.com are pretty reliable and do not err on the side of liberals. Please, let us not fall into the trap of believing our own BS.

Aristocat| 11.12.12 @ 9:00PM

Exactly so..

cicero| 11.12.12 @ 2:40PM

This will make a great, block-buster movie. Now, for the casting. Larry can play---- Moe can play ..., and Curley can play ... .

Welcome to the Theatre of the Absurd.

KittyAmerica| 11.12.12 @ 2:49PM

Men and women who are not married to each other should never be in the kind of intimate setting that Petraeus and Broadwell were in. The Church teaches that we should avoid the near occasion of sin.
This adulterous affair is the consequence of feminism and egalitarianism, and with the feminization of the military we can only expect to see more adultery and sexual assault.
This does not excuse the adultery of Petraeus and Broadwell because they are culpable, but we have set our society up for failure by violating God's order.

obadiah| 11.12.12 @ 3:08PM

Time for IMPEACHMENT. This must not rest. Go ALL OUT for IMPEACHMENT. Shut down the government. Drive over the fiscal cliff. Satanic Obama Marxist must be destroyed. IMPEACH NOW.

allardkent| 11.12.12 @ 5:54PM

Thank you for the level headed response to Mr. Stein's conjecture.

Word to the wise however: you might want to adjust your meds and then read David Frum's latest column. Obama is neither satanic nor marxist - he, like the electorate, just views the world with a more consistent serotonin level.

USArmyRanger| 11.12.12 @ 8:28PM

Medically you are lost. The serotonin level has nothing to do with views of the world. It is merely a gate between the present and the past, keeping all the memories in the subconscious.

Eduardo| 11.12.12 @ 3:43PM

Forget investigating anything. It doesn't matter. Even if something - ANYTHING - could be directly tied back to Obama, it still wouldn't matter. Absolutely nothing - and I mean NOTHING - would cause any of Obama's interest groups and constituencies to turn on him. Call it the Marion Barry syndrome. I was open-mouthed with amazement when I heard some of the comments made by the DC "community" when Barry was caught with crack and whores back in the day. Hey, what's the big deal? A brother needs to relax once in a while, dontcha know?

Got to admire those Dems for crazy, wicked, obscene loyalty..........

KittyAmerica| 11.12.12 @ 4:01PM

Could just as well be the Coleman Young and Jackson Junior syndrome too.
I wish our people were so loyal.

garysvent| 11.12.12 @ 5:27PM

It seems that no one who runs for office or is appointed to high office can control his pants. Maybe we should only elect geldings.

spike59| 11.13.12 @ 6:13AM

we tried that in 2008...didn't turn out so well

dumbingdownofamerica| 11.12.12 @ 5:47PM

Petraeus can possibly redeem himself. How?

By telling WE, THE PEOPLE, the truth about Benghazi, regardless if Obama is forced out of office, or resigns as Nixon did. Regardless of potential problems in the United States or the Mid East.

PUT PETRAEUS IN A "SAFE HOUSE". GRANT HIM FULL IMMUNITY FROM PROSECUTION FOR HIS TESTIMONY ON BENGHAZI. DO NOT LET OBAMA PREVENT HIM FROM TESTIFYING.

He is disgraced. He now needs to fall on his sword, for the sake of the country.

His duty to country is what should prevail.
His honor (what's left) is at stake.
He can redeem himself by telling Americans the truth.
Our country's survival is at risk.

spike59| 11.13.12 @ 6:14AM

try inhabiting reality; once an officer rises above the rank of Bird Colonel, he's a POLITICIAN...duty, honor, and truth are quaint terms that went out with the buggy whip at that level

ezeques| 11.12.12 @ 6:42PM

Close down the CIA.
An institution whose longevity, when one considers its history of blunders, support of international crime, miscalculations, deceptions unmasked, analyses proven false, assassinations or, as often, failed attempts at them, made common knowledge, is incomprehensible. The least moral or ethical observer, the most sociopathic partisan of empire, should be astounded this agency continues to exist.

CIA: The agency with the classified budget — much more than $80 billion — that so accurately predicted the fall of Cuba, the fall of the Soviet Union, gave us such clear warning of the 9/11 attacks, predicted the fall of the Shaw and mullahs takeover in Iran, the Egyptian rebellion along with all the other rebellion’s in the middle east and Africa, kidnaping and torture in Milan, Grenada, Vietnam, Chile, El Salvador, East Timor, Mogadishu, Bay of Pigs, Iran-Contra affair, Iraqi WMDs, Panama, and many more that forgotten and we’ll never even know of.

And took 10 years to find some crippled Arab with diabetes hiding in the mountains.

Recently Hezbollah Captured American CIA Spies by Tracking Cellphone Data With Commercially Available Software.

Read, “Legacy of Ashes” by Tim Winer. The CIA needs to be shut down.
http://www.amazon.com/Legacy-A.....463&sr=8-1

Occam's Tool| 11.12.12 @ 8:23PM

Or, send our senior CIA operatives to Tel-Aviv to learn from the best.

Pablo| 11.12.12 @ 6:44PM

I'm frankly amazed that a republican can say with a straight face that a powerful man can have an extramarital affair, and that's acceptable and doesn't change the notion that he's a great man. Where was his understanding during the Lewinsky affair? Or does this only apply to people whose name is followed by the letter "R"?

Rhoetus| 11.12.12 @ 7:13PM

Rules for Conservatives @
http://www.saveamericanow.us.com

Marc Jeric| 11.12.12 @ 7:22PM

As a soldier Petraeus could not hide the fact that he was told by Obama to stand down in the ongoing Benghazi murders. He was removed from his post as commander in Afghanistan since the Obama's aim is to bring the jihadists there to power - as he has already done so in Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt.

Pete Esq| 11.12.12 @ 8:26PM

Marc you are living in an alternate reality. And, it isnt real.

wareagle| 11.12.12 @ 10:03PM

perhaps you can point out where Marc is wrong. The Muslim Brotherhood runs Egypt; Libya is in a state of chaos with a seemingly active Islamic wing; and, I don't believe Tunisia discovered Jeffersonian democracy. But keep listening to the voices in your head.

Pete Esq| 11.12.12 @ 10:30PM

Nonsense like Petraeus was removed from his command in Afghanistan because Obama's aim is to put the jjihadists in power there is sane eh? And Obama has brought the jihadists to power in Libya and Egypt? And it is me that is listening to voices in my head eh? Time for you to go out for some fresh air.

spike59| 11.13.12 @ 6:18AM

"And Obama has brought the jihadists to power in Libya and Egypt?"
----------------------
actually, a case might be made, based on 2 observations:

1-No one applauded the power change in both Libya and Egypt louder than ObaMao

2-ObaMao applauds only what he, himself, has 'accomplished'

West Houston| 11.12.12 @ 7:38PM

Quoting Ben:
" I am not sure we can count on Harry Reid."
Commenting:
Ben?
I am quite sure. You couuldn't count on that putz if he had an abacus in each hand and a calculator stuck to his forehead.

bluerabbit10| 11.12.12 @ 7:46PM

Obama had to know all about all of this, specially the embassy attack. If he watched all of this unfold without taking action, he should be impeached or ran out of office. The man cannot be trusted. He is in it for himself and self alone. He has Muslim preferences as he told in his book that when it came right down to it, he would side with the Muslims.

USArmyRanger| 11.12.12 @ 7:50PM

I do not think you can count on Reid for anything except what obama wants. A lot of us know that the obama administration is rotten through to the core. All one has to do is look at his administration. If I was Hillary I would surely watch my back because it seems that when somebody knows too much, they are gone, one way or another.

Rhoetus| 11.12.12 @ 8:10PM

Mr. Stein: The Petraeus Affair is but an asterisk compared to the Obama Administration.

Pierre Montagne| 11.12.12 @ 8:18PM

Wouldn't it be amazing if men such as David Petraeus were focused on their Jobs and their families instead of focused on eventualy disgracing themselves?
McChrystal was the better man and Obama got rid of him too.

Occam's Tool| 11.12.12 @ 8:21PM

I don't care if the General cheated on his wife. If he fell for a honey trap, that is something different.

With few exceptions, almost all 0f our reps in Congress are scumbags. In Minnesota, all of my reps except the two Conservative Republicans are people I would not invite for lunch. My two Senators are worthless clowns, one of them a LITERAL worthless clown.

Gold, Silver, Guns, Ruralness, with my own water supply. If I get a raise, I may get a generator and some solar panels.

Pete Esq| 11.12.12 @ 8:25PM

Sorry Ben, but the FBI apparently did not tell the White House. In addition, Eric Cantor was apparently clued in by a whistle blower. So, how about THAT scandal, that Eric Cantor knew about this months before the General Election, but told no one. Why is there absolutely no mention about that in your column, but you go on to opine about a conspiracy which the FBI denies took place?

Ben, us conservatives are never have any credibility whatsoever if we attempt to invent scandals that are belied by the facts. You are repeating the same mistake that has been made for years.

wareagle| 11.12.12 @ 10:06PM

who was Cantor going to tell and what was he going to say? As it is, we have the Obama MO - a distraction so no one pays attention to the real story of how it was that 4 Americans were killed and we were either powerless to do anything or chose not to

Pete Esq| 11.12.12 @ 10:23PM

You are living inside a bubble of our fellow conservative's creation. Petraeus is going to testify about Benghazi and whatever else. His resignation does not change that one bit. Because of that, the wheels fall off the bus of the conspiracy theories. The FBI has stated that Obama didn't know until the day after the election. If that is in fact true, exactly what do you think we have?

Benghazi was a screw up in security preparation at the consulate. There is no doubt about it. But, shortly after the attack began, the adjacent CIA tried to send security to help. If that is in fact true, and if Petraeus tells us that is true, then what do you think we have regarding Benghazi except the screw up in security prep?

There is a good reason why Benghazi didn't catch on and help defeat Obama. It is because conservative commentariat was overplaying its hand, and it sounded to be more of the same from the usual suspects on Fox.

It is time to do a better job of challenging the administration instead of constantly looking for scandals and screeching scandal about things that are not scandal. Obama isn't going to be impeached, so let's get to work expounding upon ideas, not delusions.

thetrellan| 11.12.12 @ 9:28PM

Geez, can't a man ruin his own life in private anymore?

Seriously, it doesn't bother me that this man's impropriety was covered up for so long. What bothers me is that a man's life can be so easily ruined for doing something which, however improper, isn't even illegal.

But it WOULD bother me if the FBI couldn't even perform an investigation without the details leaking to the public before they were ready to make an official statement.

After all, isn't that part of their job description? Don't some investigations need to be handled discreetly?

George666| 11.12.12 @ 10:03PM

You're not sure we can count on Harry Reid? I'm sure we CANNOT count on Harry Reid.

SteveHC1| 11.12.12 @ 10:12PM

Hey folks, just because some of our "civil servants" may not have the highest moral (or ethical, for that matter) standards doesn't mean that the REST of us should sink down to their level with regard to the language in and general content of our online posts. As far as any "conspiracies" go, I see none here in this particular situation.

Walker| 11.12.12 @ 10:29PM

Hey Ben, at the time Patraeus took office, he had not had an affair, so he told the truth. You are right about one thing though. He is 1000 times the man you are.
And I bet if he wrote a column, like you, he would have all the facts correct before he wrote it.
I don't like your tone, and the fact that you are so quick to judge . . . .without waiting for all the facts. You read a few little articles and/or gossip rags and judged the man on that.
I have lost a great deal of respect for you . . a great deal.

spike59| 11.13.12 @ 6:22AM

Hey Ben, at the time Patraeus took office, he had not had an affair, so he told the truth.
-------------------------------------------------
you know this HOW?????????

2 weeks ago, if asked, you likely would have said Petraeus had NEVER had an affair

kool aid drinker...

thetrellan| 11.20.12 @ 3:17PM

I just read an article which makes the same claim. No evidence. http://www.cnn.com/2012/11/14/.....index.html

Classified documents were found on a computer that Broadwell owned, but no word whether that constituted a breach of security or not.

The word "classified" doesn't really tell you much, just that the info shouldn't be relayed to the general public. The specific classification is what's important.

Walker| 11.12.12 @ 10:33PM

Another thing, Ben, you published that Patraeus gave access to his computer . . with NO evidence, or NO reason to think that. How dare you make up information as you go along. Don't you knwo that CIA personnel have more than one email account. Are you really that ignorant. I am ashamed of you! Now you have people believing that and quoting you as proof.

spike59| 11.13.12 @ 6:20AM

yes, i'm sure that a little bird told her about the 'detainees' held by the CIA in Benghazi...dolt

Walker| 11.12.12 @ 10:35PM

THERE IS NO EVIDENCE THAT HE GAVE HER ACCESS TO HIS COMPUTER!! Do you see what you've started Ben????!!!

marbee| 11.12.12 @ 11:08PM

We can't count on Harry Reid OR the Republican Congress. obama should have been impeached LONG ago. And how can the head of the CIA not hide an affair!

Vance P. Frickey| 11.13.12 @ 4:19AM

Dr. Stein, you're right on almost everything, but this: "The whole affair came to light because Director Petraeus apparently gave his girlfriend, Paula Broadwell, access to his password for his computer, or allowed her to get it through negligence. On the computer there were classified documents. General Petraeus either did not know this had happened, which would be a disgrace, or knew about it and covered it up -- also a disgrace."

If Gen. Petraeus KNEW his mistress had access to his CIA password and did nothing to rectify the situation, so that she continued to have access to CIA computer systems under his account, that's not just a disgrace - it's a violation of Federal law.

In fact, at the point that Petraeus knowingly allowed his mistress to have access to his CIA computer account, to information that was protected by his security clearance, the charge that lies against General Petraeus may be treason, just as Private Bradley Manning committed treason when he put 300,000 classified files from a classified Federal database on a thumb drive and gave them to wikileaks.org.

Now, I'm not very sure what prosecutorial discretion that FBI or the US Department of Justice has to decide that General Petraeus was not actually engaging in espionage or treason against the United States of America. But the issue passed merely being a disgrace when that woman had untrammeled access to Federal records using David Petraeus's security clearance as Director of Central Intelligence.

JAFV| 11.13.12 @ 6:10AM

One thing you can count on is this: The Justice Department will do nothing. No one will be prosecuted. Not for treeason, not for contempt, not for the cover-up - not for anything. Holder should be impeached. Do you think Harry Reid will go along? Sorry to have to tell you this, folks, but we are now living in a totalitarian state.

Vance P. Frickey| 11.14.12 @ 2:39PM

We are certainly living in a highly corrupt state. A Copt in California sits in Federal prison for breaking the terms of his probation (by using the INTERNET - OMG!) in a way that would never have been found or remarked on had it been found had he just kept his mouth shut about Mohammed. Instead he made a YouTube video which is lower-side of average for that site called "The Innocense of Muslims" showing Mohammed being whacked by the sole of a shoe by his mother-in-law, which Our Conscience-less Leader tried to tell us was the cause of the Benghazi attacks. Damn that pesky Freedom of Speech, anyway! Barack Obama said "the Constitution is holding us back," and here's the proof!

I wonder if "totalitarian" is quite the word. If most of our fellow Americans really did vote for the man this time, then yes, we live in Nazi America, and the worst is yet to come. If Obama lied and cheated his way back into office, then Congress' duty is to expose the fact and impeach him.

The jury's out right now.

Vance P. Frickey| 11.13.12 @ 4:32AM

Question for those here who are actual attorneys: DOES the FBI or Department of Justice HAVE the discretion to allow General Petraeus to continue having access to secrets as Director of Central Intelligence once they had probable cause to believe he was allowing uncleared people to enter Federal databases?

bonncaruso | 11.13.12 @ 4:54AM

"It is inconceivable that no one at the FBI told the White House or the A.G. about these serious concerns before this week...The President knew before the election...What did Attorney General Holder do to keep the lid on his FBI? What kind of possibly corrupt bargain did Mr. Obama make with Gen. Petraeus to go easy on him over Benghazi if Gen. Petraeus would keep quiet about his impending disgrace? What promises, winks, and nods were given and received?"

Ben,

The premise to your writing here is absolutely disgusting and totally unjewish. To link the Petraeus sex scandal to the President in this way is unbecoming even of you.

You accuse Eric Holder and the POTUS - WITHOUT ONE SHRED OF EVIDENCE ON YOUR PART - of collusion in all of this. Man, do you have no shame? Are you all just frothing at the mouth the entire time, hoping against hope to catch Obama in a "scandal" so you can try to get him impeached, or what?

Oh, if you only knew how cheap and taudry your words look to people like me who can discern, and as you can see from the results of the election, more people can discern than you realize.

So, you are free to your opinion, no matter how Jennifer Rubinesque (read that as: whacked out beyond recognition), but I am now going to make sure that the world knows how unbelievably unjewish this is. Really.

Shame on you, shame on you, shame on you, for spreading vile rumours - which is EXPRESSLY forbidden in the Torah, by the way.

- a Jew who CAN discern

spike59| 11.13.12 @ 6:24AM

"- a troll who CAN babble"

there, fixed it for ya

Vance P. Frickey| 11.14.12 @ 2:47PM

Won't wash, bonncaruso. You can't make Ben Stein goyische because he sees the FBI sitting on evidence that General Petraeus had compromised the security of his own CIA computer account for months and declines to believe it happened WITHOUT Eric Holder and Barack Obama's knowledge and direction.

What YOU obviously believe is that what amounts to the same treasonable activity that Bradley Manning sits in military prison for was uncovered by an FBI Special Agent who did NOT immediately refer the matter to his Supervisory Special Agent and so on up the organizational tree to the Director of the FBI, thence to that man's boss, Attorney General Eric Holder; and that Eric Holder would have willingly made himself the goat in the investigation that followed, not telling the President.

No one believed that John Mitchell kept Watergate from Richard Nixon; and no one who doesn't have Kool-Aid on his breath believes Eric Holder held General Petraeus' activities from Barack Hussein Obama for months.

I don't know WHAT you "discern," and I suspect deep, deep devotion to the Democratic Party is most of it, and that chemical help accounts for the rest - but the rest of us see business as usual in the Obama Administration.

JAFV| 11.13.12 @ 5:43AM

Ben Stein wears well. He has become much more mellow with age. In this article, he calls for the truth, not for the salacious but rather about the scandalous nature in which this administration has handled the Benghazi matter. If the facts are as alleged, Mr. Obama and his Attorney General should be impeached.

HarryMasters| 11.13.12 @ 12:39PM

One can be convicted by a jury in the face of sufficient circumstantial evidence.

This administration is piling it up

StanAmSpec| 11.13.12 @ 1:24PM

Lying to the FBI, that's why Martha Stewart went to prison instead of just paying a fine. Also she will probably get kicked out of the Reserves for actions unbecoming of an officer.

J.J.| 11.13.12 @ 1:35PM

I believe, and please correct me if I'm incorrect, that this affair began after he was questioned by the FBI prior to becoming director of the CIA. I mention the caveat because there appears to be be two periods in which the affair reportedly began.

Now, how about investigating the FBI agent who reportedly leaked information about the investigation, word of which was provided to Eric Cantor seven days prior to the election? Leaking that information is a felony.

Highsider| 11.13.12 @ 9:54PM

Ben, are you positive that the General is guilty, on just Eric Holder's FBI's say so? The General has been an embarrassment to the administration, but mostly because he has disagreed with Obama's leadership of our millitary. Doesn't it strike you as at least a little suspicious that this vast number of emails and other documents have suddenly come to light when it would be an easy task for Obama to use such a smear to oust him and appoint someone more to his liberal liking?

It would not be the firstperson to have his life destroyed for the good of progressivism. Like the vile charges leveled at Herman Cain, It will never have to be backed up with any proof, just burn his barn down and let him pick through the ashes while the ship of state is sailing off! The president of the United States can't be sued successfully for such a thing at any rate.

Vance P. Frickey| 11.14.12 @ 3:11PM

I wonder about that. Certainly, Petraeus could have been shown the texts we now see (long before Sen. Dianne Feinstein of the Senate Intelligence Committee saw them) and given an ultimatum; get with the program or suffer what is happening now. It's hard to imagine it NOT happening that way, given Sen.Feinstein's surprise at what occurred.

Will Dianne Feinstein go quietly into that good night, admitting she and her Senate Intelligence Committee are Congress' equivalent to an appendix? That she doesn't matter, and Barack Obama couldn't care less what she and her committee decide or uncover?

Dianne Feinstein and her fellow Democrats worked hard and long to get where they are - theoretically, they provide the Senate's advice and consent without which the President shouldn't be acting. Now she's been outed as a rubber stamp for the White House.

When Republicans occupied the White House, they made the motions and did what the Constitution required - cleared opposition Members of Congress into intelligence operations and in general walked the bipartisan walk Obama never even attempted. After his inauguration, Obama called the Republican leadership into his office, told them "Elections have consequences," and has tried to run the country without them ever since. Now he's not even calling the DEMOCRATIC leadership (apart from his reliable hounds Harry Reid, Elijah Cummings, and Nancy Pelosi) into the office. They don't matter as long as Obama can sign Executive Orders.

Trinacria| 11.14.12 @ 1:51PM

"General David Petraeus is roughly one thousand times the man I am."

Finally, Stein gets one right...

Vance P. Frickey| 11.14.12 @ 3:20PM

Why? Because Petraeus can perform the biological acts of the human male with (one assumes) enviable proficience? You have a poor view of manhood. Men are called on to stand up for their beliefs, and for the duties of their office - when someone else tells them to just go with the flow and not bother the Man in the White House.

The Obama Administration wanted the good name of David Petraeus, but not his morals or his courage. They wanted another false validation of Barack Obama's honesty and probity. And when David Petraeus's weakness came to their attention, they held off on letting him go until it became clear they could do without him. That they did in as tawdry a manner as possible.

Is that what you had in mind when you dissed Ben Stein, Trinacria? I, for one, don't care what you think. You've shown us what you're judging people by.

Ralph Novy| 11.14.12 @ 5:55PM

"It is inconceivable that no one at the FBI told the White House or the A.G. about these serious concerns before this week. It just could not have happened that way. That is not how the world works."

You know as much about how the world works, Ben, as you did about who would win the election. And about why a rich, greedy liar would have made a better president than Obama. And about a decent society should act toward its less fortunate members.

As to your cowardly McCarthy-esque speculations about back-room deals ("What promises, winks, and nods were given and received?") -- you should be thoroughly ashamed of yourself, morally and intellectually.

travelbill| 11.18.12 @ 8:47AM

YOU LOST THE ELECTION! GET OVER IT! MOVE ON!

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