David Ignatius of the Washington Post (12/29/10):
I’ve seen Petraeus give many briefings over the years, and it’s a bit like watching a magician at work. Even though you’ve seen the trick before, and you know the patter, you still get mesmerized. He has the ability to make people believe the impossible might be doable, after all.
That sounds bad, but then I remembered this from ABC‘s Martha Raddatz (6/23/10):
A warrior and a scholar, Petraeus is sometimes jokingly referred to as a water walker, since almost everything he touches seems to turn to gold.
Joke’s on us, I guess.
the odd thing about that “joke,” jesus walked on water, but he never turned anything into gold, that was midas [to be fair, jesus reportedly turned water into wine]
Screw the Post. David should write for Tiger Beat!
We have always worshiped our generals, starting with Washington. Except for corporate CEOs, I can think of few categories of employment that render one more unsuitable for leadership of a democracy.
Oh, and BTW, the great general P seems to be losing another war.
Uneasy one…there is one type of person less suitable…..A lawyer!
BTW the war in Afghan was won in any military sense long ago.Nation building is not his job.I have little faith in anyone making that work in that wo begotten corner of the world.
I agree the media are a joke. However, did Martha Raddatz mean for this to be a joke, “a water walker, since almost everything he touches seems to turn to gold”? I don’t normally mind mixed metaphors, but I find that bit of English offensive. I’m not even sure it qualifies as a mixed metaphor. “You can lead a zygote to the Iberian Peninsula but it will not make Joe Klein a better zoologist.” That makes perfect sense when you consider that William S. Burroughs wrote most of Naked Lunch in Tangier.