Not true in the case of Petraeus (and Mattis). The sense in the beltway is that the administration is actually afraid of them...cutting them free might have resulted in loose (ie honest) cannons in the media and political realms.

This situation sucks more for all of us than for Petraeus...the American people would have benefited from having that guy in a leadership role for as many years as possible.

If you ever met his wife you would understand why a high-energy guy like that might need somebody like Broadwell in his life...I'd give him an alibi on that one. He didn't actually violate any rules (no UCMJ, he's retired), other than common political sense.