After defending Petraeus, Gergen admitted, "I have a personal relationship with him ... I'm biased"

[NNN0LHI]

http://mediamatters.org/items/200709100008?f=h_latest

On the September 10 edition of CNN Newsroom, former White House adviser David Gergen said that Gen. David Petraeus "has won high marks within the military on all services as one of the most respected, independent-minded men and who ... become a father figure on counterinsurgency," before admitting, "I must tell you, I have a personal relationship with him, so I'm sure I'm biased in this regard." CNN anchor Don Lemon introduced Gergen as "sort of our go-to guy today that we're going to talk to" during discussions of Petraeus' and Ambassador Ryan Crocker's testimonies on Iraq before Congress.

Before admitting he had a personal relationship with Petraeus, Gergen defended the general against an ad the liberal group MoveOn.org ran in The New York Times on September 10, titled, "General Petraeus or General Betray Us?" Discussing the ad, Gergen asserted: "There has been what appears to be a concerted effort on the part of some, on the left, Democratic Party, to undermine the credibility of General Petraeus before he even speaks, which I think has been a -- I think they've misplayed their hand on this." Gergen added that the ad "struck many Republicans and, frankly, it will strike a lot of fair-minded Americans as a sort of below-the-belt kind of attack before we've even had a chance to hear from one of the most decorated and respected generals in the United States Army."

Later on the program, anchor Kyra Phillips introduced Gergen as "pretty much our go-to guy for political analysis has been talking to us about the political implications of today's testimony." During that interview, Gergen continued to heap praise on Petraeus, saying: "General Petraeus was highly professional, very factual, avoided hyperbole, did not go too far ... did not claim too much success, always ... was cautious." Gergen added: "I think after hearing him with that blizzard of facts and statistics and charts, it's going to be very hard for Democrats now to say, let's pull the plug." Gergen did not reiterate his disclosure of a personal relationship with Petraeus during the second interview.

From the 1 p.m. ET hour of the September 10 edition of CNN Newsroom:

[tularetom]

1. A 'personal relationship"? WTF does that mean?

Like in the crapper at the Minneapolis Airport?

[papau]

2. Gergen teaches the young employees at CNN to believe WH/GOP spin - he has

been seen/sold as a "moderate" but he also seems to come down on the "right" side of issues.

[saltpoint]

3. David Gergen biased?

Well my stars.