Big Red Car here. Hope you are well.
Reputations take a long time to develop. I should know. Back in the 1960’s, it was often thought that my 327 cubic inch motor was a bit smallish — WTF? With the passage of years, the old 327 has become the standard for vintage muscle cars. The most famous muscle car being me — a 1966 Impala Super Sport convertible (he said humbly).
Recently we witnessed the complete destruction of a man’s reputation — General David Petreaus.
As I am sure you know, General David H Petreaus was an extremely highly regarded general officer — four stars. Currently, there are only ten four star generals in the Army on active duty. Becoming a four star is quite a feat.
Petreaus who was too young to have gone to Viet Nam first saw action in the first Gulf War. He commanded the legendary 101st Airborne Division. He was a good soldier and an accomplished one having been the Honor Graduate of both his Ranger and Command and General Staff College classes.
He was later to become an almost legendary general having had a strong hand in the authoring of the Army’s counterinsurgency manual — the US Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Field Manual. In addition, he was awarded a doctorate from Princeton University.
In Iraq and thereafter in Afghanistan, General Petreaus was able to take the book learning of having drafted the Counterinsurgency Field Manual and put it into practice. Results were initially graded as good in Iraq and incomplete in Afghanistan.
President Obama tapped General Petreaus to head the Central Intelligence Agency. Having been a consumer of central intelligence, Petreaus was now in charge of its production.
Some might say that President Obama picked General Petreaus for some of his high commands and the top position in the CIA in order to pigeon hole a potential presidential adversary. Who knows?
What we do know is that in an inglorious week of sensation, General Petreaus was forced to resign his commission because he had had an affair with a young fellow West Pointer, Paula Broadwell, quite a few years his junior. She was writing a biography of Petreaus which would have been an extraordinary account of a general fighting a war written in a contemporaneous manner. Very few such books about war or generals have ever been written.
That Guy was reading the book, “All In”, while at the beach at Folly Beach, South Carolina. You know those kind of wonderful late September almost Indian Summer days at the beach with the crowds gone, the sun still warm, the restaurants uncrowded? Sitting under the umbrella reading and swimming and reading some more. Idyllic.
When he finished the book his wife looked over at him and said: “What do you think?” To which he replied: “The General has a very ardent admirer. I have never read such a laudatory book.”
Little did we know.
The rest is history, ugly history really.
The General resigns his position as Director of Central Intelligence. Funny turn of events when our Nation’s top spy can’t keep a secret. Apparently he originally thought he could have an affair, come clean on it and continue as the DCI. No, the President accepted his resignation forthwith.
As the soaring General crashed to Mother Earth, his reputation was shredded on the downward spiral.
It takes years and years to earn a reputation and a second of folly to destroy it.
