Fox News contributor K.T. McFarland took to FoxNews.com to discuss the imbroglio involving General Petraeus. In case you missed it, Bob Woodward obtained audio of McFarland talking to Petraeus, and mentioning that Fox News CEO Roger Ailes wanted him to run for President.
In her column, McFarland explains the circumstances surrounding the incident:
On my way out, I casually told him, I’ll give the general your regards, shall I? Roger smiled and replied something to the effect of, tell him if they don’t make him chairman of the joint chiefs, he ought to jump into the presidential race to stir things up. I know now that Roger was joking, but at the time, I wasn’t sure…
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Petraeus and I were having fun. Having just told me definitively that he wouldn’t run, he suggested that maybe Ailes could run this non-existent campaign. It was not a serious conversation plotting General Petraeus’ political future; it was the kind of idle speculation that happens in every campaign season. That’s why they call it the silly season. I knew he was serious about not wanting to run, and he knew I wasn’t serious in pressing it.