General David Petraeus is the name. And if he didn't exist, a media presence like him would have to be invented.

Standing behind the general, of course, is a Commander in Chief whose highs and lows can be charted with press clippings. After mediocre reviews through most of 2001, he became the media's genuine global-vision cowboy, guns about to blaze, atop the smoking ruins of the World Trade Center. Poll ratings spiked, and pundit accolades went into overdrive. Eight months into his pr ...

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