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And so Cohen said he had to "draw a line." But that line seemed skewed in favor of a man with four stars on his shoulder and 32 years of service. The Pentagon chief and his aides spent much of last week splitting legal hairs to show why Ralston's transgression wasn't as severe as Flinn's. Whereas Flinn, the Air Force's first female B-52 pilot, lied about her affair and disobeyed an order to stop seeing her boyfriend, Ralston had his fling when the then colonel and his first wife were separated. Because Ralston and his love, a married CIA employee, were attending the Pentagon's National War College at the time, he had no troops under his command. Cohen reasoned that Ralston didn't hurt "good order and discipline" and consequently didn't warrant punishment. The need for top military officers to serve as moral beacons "does not come from notions of perfection," Cohen said, but from possessing "the character to acknowledge our mistakes honestly and then make things right." Perhaps so, but public concern about a possible double standard forced Cohen to launch a fresh review of the matter on Saturday.
Cohen learned of Ralston's affair only last Monday from reporters who had heard of it from Ralston's former war-college classmates. His only discussions with Ralston on the matter have been over the phone (the general was on an official, week-long trip to central Asia). Ralston, 53, told Cohen the affair occurred while he and his first wife, Linda, were separated. She disputes that assertion, claiming the affair continued and led to their 1988 divorce. The next year Ralston married his current wife, who was not involved in the affair.
Ralston thanked Cohen for his support and said he has tried to learn from his mistake. "Our armed forces are composed of human beings that strive to meet the highest standards every day," he said, "but I am acutely aware of human strengths and human frailties." So too is the White House, which in the midst of the Paula Jones battle has no desire to see a few days of televised hearings about adultery or anything else sensational before the Senate. And so the chances of Ralston's securing the nomination seem to be in a fatal dive. The Pentagon is screening a handful of new candidates for the post, examining their backgrounds with a fine-toothed comb for any sexual improprieties. The last-minute choice can only hope he has a history but no past.