Petraeusgate

I'm amazed the major media outlets haven't labeled the stories revolving around the resignation of CIA chief General Petraeus and the stalled nomination of Marine Gen. John Allen's to become NATO's supreme allied commander due to a brief affair and some naughty e-mails Petraeusgate yet.  I've seen the term Petraeusgate in a few news headlines from smaller players like the Daily Beast, Mother Jones and, of course, Twitter but not the NY Times or Washingtion Post so I know that this is not a major story. We've thrown gate onto every scandal for the last 40 years, so it seems, so why not this one?

Seriously though, I know I am not the only one who smells a rat in this hornet's nest. I find it hard to believe that this scandal at the top of  our military and intelligence community was brought on by a bare chested FBI agent doing a favor for a well connected friend. Something is fishy here. Whether it is political foes of Generals Petraeus and Allen seeking an opportunity, a chance for the Obama administration to take the focus off of intelligence failures, misleading statements or lies regarding the Benghazi attack in Libya or the attacks on our soldiers in Afghanistan from "friendly" fire, a chance for political foes of the president to distract him as he waste resources on this scandal instead of focusing on our long term budget issues or something more I don't know. It is a little hard to do investigative journalism from my home in NJ, that is what professional news outlets are for. But if I can connect the dots and see some coincidences that seem too coincidental, then why can't the media see something beyond the emails?

Instead of concentrating on the bedroom activities in Petraeusgate, or whether this was a November surprise delayed for the election (which doesn't make sense as the General worked in both Republican and Democratic administrations) I have better questions for our media and leaders. On the assumption that there really isn't anything else going on, why are we tearing up our military and CIA leaders over this insignificant stuff? So they cheated on their wives, big deal. That is between the generals and their wives. Maybe this is all just the latest version of our reality based TV culture where we seem to be fascinated with fluff and tearing people down, especially as we enter television's November sweeps period. Maybe it is not. It is still silly.

How about we get out of the bedrooms and focus on what is really important, like the security lapses and conflicting information the CIA gave the White House regarding the  attack on our embassy (ok, consulate)  in Libya, the murdering of our soldiers by "friends," our crumbling infrastructures at home (or not), how the economy still struggles as we approach our self imposed "fiscal cliff,"  or how the increasing concentration of wealth by a few is a detriment to our republic, at least for most of us. And, if the Petraeusgate story is "merely" a cover for something much more nefarious, why are the media stalking  Mrs. Kelley and Broadwell? Either throw a gate onto the story or get back to work already (and I prefer the later).