Paula Broadwell is visible through the window in the kitchen of her brother's house in Washington on Nov. 13, 2012.
Every great scandal needs a few villains, but absent downright bad people, the media finds the most sensational character and latches on for dear life. In the ongoing David Petraeus sex scandal, in which the CIA director resigned from his post after admitting to an affair with his biographer Paula Broadwell, there were entire constellations of astonishing personalities. Chief among them was Broadwell, the striving, Type-A West Point grad, and Jill Kelley, the Tampa Bay socialite whose friendship with Petraeus and his former deputy, Marine General John Allen, sent reporters scrambling for juicy details about their pasts. And there was plenty of juice: financial debt, prima-donna behavior, Broadwell’s storied academic career and Kelley’s position as an “honorary consul” for South Korea. Meanwhile Petraeus and Allen, two grown men who whatever their sins should really have known better, have largely faded into the background of their own scandal. After reporters camped outside of Broadwell’s brother’s house and snapped a photo of her holding a glass of wine, BuzzFeed’s Andrew Kaczynski tweeted: “AP confirms, Paula Broadwell drinks wine and wears sweaters.” Need we say more?