Robertson absolves Petraeus: Broadwell was 'throwing herself at him... he's a man'

Televangelist Pat Robertson on Monday suggested that former CIA Director David Petraeus, who recently resigned over an affair with his biographer, was the victim in the scandal because there was "a good-looking lady throwing herself at him" and "he's a man."

"I don't think he is a devious human being," Robertson explained. "I think he's been one of the greatest generals America has ever produced. He's a brilliant man. He's got a Ph.D from Princeton and his analysis of counterinsurgency is the textbook for the whole military. We'll sadly miss a man like that."

The TV preacher went on to explain the scandal by placing the blame on Paula Broadwell, the author who reportedly had an affair with Petraeus.

"The affairs of the heart seem to catch these guys," he opined. "She's a lieutenant colonel, she is an extremely good-looking woman, she is a marathon runner, she can run Ironman Triathlons. So, she's out running with him and she's writing a biography and I think the term is propinquity. And there was a lot of propinquity going on."

"Well, who knows? The man is off in a foreign land and he's lonely and here's a good-looking lady throwing herself at him. I mean, it's -- he's a man," Robertson added with a shrug. "So, there are people who felt he shouldn't resign if it didn't effect his work."

"I don't condone sexual immorality, but at the same time, I don't think it should be necessarily a disqualification for somebody to head the CIA."

At the Christian Coalition's state dinner in 1999, Robertson had thanked several Republicans who had worked to impeach President Bill Clinton and "rid ourselves of this moral evil" after he had an affair with Monica Lewinski. But Robertson also urged lawmakers to move on because it was clear the president was not going to be removed from office.

"In jury terms, they have a hung jury and the sooner they can wrap it up the better," he said. "If you don't have the votes, what can you do?"

Watch this video from CBN's The 700 Club via Right Wing Watch, broadcast Nov. 12, 2012.