OK, let me try again (ref) and I'll especially try not to go off on anybody who lives in the real world. I live in a make-believe world of beauty and honor, a world I can stand to live in, inhabited by noble memories of sooo many people. Into this world comes David Petraeus (Wiki).
This site has helped me hang on like nothing else. Our national disgrace leaves me feeling bathed in a nightmare. Knowing what we have done makes it much harder to live in the real world. The real world is supposed to be a place producing evidence that can be introduced in court, substantive factual proof of the reality of all sorts of things, and further although human testimony has inherent weaknesses, it too can have probity and use words that march with verifiable factuality. Into this world comes David Petraeus. Will he be found wanting?
Will the man step forward? I realize the "General" comes with and it is of course primarily in that status as Most Military One that I beseech him to tell our nation the truth, the verifiable truth. I cannot begin to imagine how he can do it. I cannot begin to pretend that there is some way for him to show himself better than General Tommy Franks and anything better than less-than General Peter Pace. But the words of whatever man Petraeus is are about to march across our nation's spine, most predictably for ill. What are the consequences? Oh the idea of oaths and perjury was branded hard, and it is, it is...IN THE REAL WORLD. Not in my world. In my world the truth is easy like Senator Russ Feingold who to my knowledge has never lied to me. Or take a long time ambitious gentleman John Edwards who regardless of anything in his past seems to have my heart right now, winning the odd contest for enough truth most of the time plus a measure of trust. Into this world comes...
DAY ONE (because I just might have to do this again)
Please do not lie to us about this war in Iraq, General Petraeus. Please, as a man and a soldier and a patriot, do not do so.
I am a parent. I try to stand for things myself. We need facts. America is supposed to lead the world along the way of justice in a free society, yet there is a sense of counter-factuality in our midst. Are lies the fog of war? Please, do not lie, do not in any way add to the national challenge at home to go forward in any decent way. Please, for the sake of the noblest long-term battles on the home front, please do not lie to Congress.
P.S. And please answer questions better than former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales or SecState Condoleezza Rice. You know I'm going to have to talk about this with my kids. They're who you're fighting for. Please set them a good example.