The President I'd Like to See: Press Conference Blues

Here's the press conference I'd like to see today:

Reporter:  Mr. President what does the Petraeus affair tell us about the culture at the national security institutions of this country?

Mr. Obama: Culture is defined by values, what we hold out as ideal behavior. Behavior often deviates from this, where individuals are concerned. If you mean by that question do we have a culture which allows for powerful men in high positions to trade on that power to intimidate women into sexual relationships, nothing in what I've learned thus far about this particular affair would suggest anything of the sort occurred here or exists as a background in general.  There is no issue of "sexual harassment"  in this case, as far as we know now.  As for values, they are embodied in the military legal code, which forbids married officers from having extra marital affairs and which forbids any officer, married or unmarried from engaging in a sexual relationship with an officer of lower rank.  The fact General Petraeus resigned speaks to his own assessment of his own behavior, that he betrayed a trust, and having done that in his previous job, he apparently concluded he could not command trust in his present job. All of us in highly visible jobs, jobs which command some power are exposed to temptation daily: Power is attractive to many people. Some of us are better than others at resisting temptation. 

Reporter: But are you saying Ms. Broadwell was attracted to General Petraeus because of his power? 

Mr. Obama:  I am saying I feel like the school m'arm who has an important math class to teach and I am confronted by a bunch of giddy teenagers who want to talk about nothing but sex. Now I can dismiss this class if you refuse to talk about the important concerns of this country of 300 million people, who face a fiscal cliff, or we can talk about matters which affect the average citizen.

Reporter: Are you willing for us to go over the cliff?

Mr. Obama:  The Republican Party insisted on this cliff.  And now, because so many Republican Congressmen and Senators have been foolish enough to take some pledge, like a bunch of college sophomores, eager to get into some fraternity, they are steering the country over a cliff.  It's as if we are all in a boat headed toward a waterfall on our right. To the left is a clear and safe line, but the Republican leaders, who are at the stern, with the steering paddle have refused ever to steer the boat left; right is the only direction they will steer us. So they'd rather send us all over the waterfall than ever admit they have taken a foolish pledge.