David Petraeus found one surprising defender on Tuesday in conservative Christian broadcaster Pat Robertson.
Pat Robertson, who is host of the Christian current events TV show The 700 Club, seemed to justify the disgraced CIA Director’s relationship with Paula Broadwell.
“The man is in a foreign land and he’s lonely and here’s a good looking lady throwing herself at him and… he’s a man,” Pat Robertson said.
He seemed sympathetic to David Petraeus’ “affairs of the heart”, and implied that he seemed to be a tragic victim.
“I don’t think he’s a devious human being. I think he’s been one of the greatest general America has ever produced. He’s a brilliant man, he’s got a Ph.D. from Princeton,” Pat Robertson said.
He added: “We’ll sadly miss a man like that.”
David Petraeus, one of the country’s most decorated war heroes, resigned from his post as the nation’s top spy on Friday after the FBI stumbled across email evidence of a months-long affair between him and Paula Broadwell.
Both are married with children, but David Petraeus, age 60, is 20 years Paula Broadwell’s senior.
Pat Robertson said it was easy to explained the attraction between the two.
“She is a Lt. Colonel. She is an extremely good looking woman. She is a marathon runner. She runs Ironman triathlons. And she’s out running with him and she’s writing a biography and… I think the term is propinquity.”
Propinquity is a social science term that explains how intimately people connect with each other based on a combination of physical proximity and how similar their backgrounds and viewpoints are.
The Virginia Beach-based broadcaster’s take on the sex scandal immediately drew fire, especially from liberal groups.
“There is no evidence that Broadwell initiated the relationship and, even if she did, that doesn’t mean that he no responsibility for his decision to engage in extra-marital relations,” wrote left-wing news site Think Progress.
“Apparently Pat Robertson thinks men can’t control their bodies, but they have the divine right to control women’s. Huh.,” tweeted Daily Beat blogger Emily L. Hauser.
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