CBN Defends Pat Robertson's Comments on David Petraeus's Affair
The Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) has issued a statement defending its chairman Pat Robertson's recent comments on the military sex scandal involving CIA Director Gen. David Petraeus and author Paula Broadwell, saying that Robertson's comments have been skewed in an attempt to discredit the famed televangelist.
Chris Roslan, spokesman for CBN, issued a statement shortly after Robertson's comments, which he made on the Monday, Nov. 12 and Tuesday, Nov. 13 episodes of the "The 700 Club", CBN's flagship program.
"In his comments about General Petraeus, Dr. Robertson clearly stated that he does not condone sexual immorality, a fact that was left out by certain bloggers in an effort to discredit him," Roslan stated, according to Gawker.com.
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Robertson first spoke on Gen. Petraeus' affair on Monday, when he told "The 700 Club" viewers that the affair between Petraeus and his biographer, Paula Broadwell, was a matter of "propinquity."
"[Petraeus] is a Lieutenant Colonel, [Broadwell] is an extremely good-looking woman," Robertson said on Monday's episode.
"She is a marathon runner, [...] she's running with him and she's writing a biography. I think the term is 'propinquity,' and there was a lot of propinquity going on," Robertson added.
"I mean, who knows? The man's off in a foreign land, and he's lonely, and here's a good-looking lady throwing herself at him. I mean, he's a man," Robertson concluded.
The ordained Southern Baptist minister spoke on the military scandal again on Tuesday's episode of "The 700 Club", saying of Gen. Petraeus: "He's got four stars, he's written a book on counterinsurgency, he's the acknowledged expert in the world, he's one of the greatest generals America has ever produced, yet he can't keep his pants zipped."
Robertson's comments have received some criticism from bloggers, who argue that he is using Petraeus' gender to excuse the general of his sexual infidelity, as well as downplaying the high profile exrtamarital affair.
As Joel J. Miller wrote in a Nov. 14 post for the religious blog Patheos, Robertson's recent comments "boggle the mind."
"[…] Robertson's comments essentially blame Broadwell and reduce Petraeus to so much putty in her hands, as if he gets a pass," Miller argued.
Robertson has also garnered public criticism for previous comments regarding Muslim marriage and pornography.
General David Petraeus, a four star general who served 37 years in the United States Army, resigned his position as director of the Central Intelligence Agency on Nov. 9, 2012 after he admitted to having an extramarital affair with Broadwell.
Petraeus, 60, has been married to his wife, Holly Petraeus, for 37 years, while Broadwell, 40, is currently married to a radiologist.
Watch a clip of Nov. 12 boradcast of "The 700 Club" featuring Pat Robertson's comments on Petraeus:
