As you surely know by now General David Petraeus has resigned from his post as CIA director today because he cheated on his wife. You may also know that his biographer, Paula Broadwell is the lady he was making love to behind his wife’s back, according to a report on Slate. But did you know that Broadwell was a guest on The Daily Show on Jan. 25? It’s true.
During the interview, Broadwell talks about her time embedded with the general in Afghanistan, where she would often interview him one-on-one during five-mile runs– all for research on her dissertation-turned-book All In. “He’s a very high-energy person and I think he does gain energy from feeling like he’s consequential and making a difference,” Broadwell tells Stewart. “He loves serving and he loves to be in the arena. In some sense, it was an honor for him to go back to Afghanistan and serve as a field commander again.”
Throughout her Daily Show appearance, there really wasn’t a moment where a reasonable viewer would’ve thought, oh, she’s banging Petraeus. However, Broadwell did say some things that, at this point, can only be heard with a sad trombone accompaniment.
“He’s a bit concerned, as someone in his position would be, about legacy,” she says, “and he also came at it form a mentoring point of view and wanted to help me with this project. For quite a while he thought I was only working on my dissertation, and so he was happy to facilitate that.” Yes, Paula. He sure was.
The major twist during the chat is when Broadwell reveals she’s married. When Stewart asks her if Petraeus will run for president, she says he isn’t. “He’s not,” she says. “My husband wants me to say he is because it’ll sell more books. “Sorry, honey, I couldn’t do it.”
Check out the full interview below.
