Martin Bashir   |  November 14, 2012

Bashir: Petraeus not alone as flawed hero

Martin Bashir uses the downfall of David Petraeus to discuss how none of our great leaders are without flaws – a fact that the deeply flawed Republican Party won’t grant to Democrats like President Obama.

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This content comes from Closed Captioning that was broadcast along with this program.

>>> as investigations continue into the complicated and secretive love life of the head of the cia, many commentators are wondering what on earth led him into temptation ? there's been understandable disappointment and shock that david petraeus may have compromised the standards we expect of him. particularly as one renowned for self-discipline and self-control. but that begs the question, what do we expect of our leaders? recent history tells us that almost every one of our most treasured institutions has had its troubles. the worldwide catholic church has been exposed as an institution that allowed pedophiles to operate with immunity and even protected them when they were exposed. in government one of the nation's most successful presidents found it impossible to curb his own sexual appetite, even when he was commander in chief. in sport, a cyclist who could fairly be described as the greatest athlete on the earth is now exposed as a drug, cheat and fraud. now the military itself. this nation's most revered institution is reeling from the self-confessed adultery of general petraeus . amid the disappointment, perhaps the most conclusive analysis has been offered by ruth markis, a columnist on "the washington post " where she says this, each of us is captive to the capacity of self-delusion. every hero has a fatal flaw. but instead of learning from history, we seem to prefer the delusion of perfect expectations. and that particularly applies to the current president. you know, there's a strong suspicion that president obama will not be granted even a single mistake. that he cannot be guilty of any indiscretion, that he must live the most perfect life . but that would be as ridiculous as expecting perfection from a four- star general . because if we've learned anything from this latest episode, it is that part of treasuring our leaders is recognizing that they are as human and as