The clash between Trump and his generals

The Presidency is a popularity contest. Being a General is a skilled position with multiple sanity checks along the way. I cannot name one 4 Star General who the Peter Principle applies to. Our system just weeds them out well before then.

However, our Generals work for the President. That's how the system is designed. It's a feature, not a bug. One of our primary safeguards.

Unfortunately, the safeguard creates issues when you have a President who doesn't use all the tools at his disposal, namely the people who are explicitly there for him to run his organizations. Mattis was chosen because of his EXPERTISE. President Trump was elected because "he was not a politician" which means that Diplomacy (war is diplomacy through firepower) outside his wheelhouse. Failure to use someone who is an expert in a subject matter you are not is just bad business.

Trump has said on more than one occasion that he is smarter than the generals. Sorry, I don't believe it, not in the areas of the generals' expertise.

I think the problem is not one of right vs left, or this policy vs some policy alternative. The problem is one of Trump's lack of character, lack of professionalism and dignity, and apparent lack of knowledge or interest in affairs of state, constitutional law, economics or any other factor relevant to making decisions at the national level. The more he is beyond the influence of competent adults like James Mattis, the more the government appears to be lurching and drifting, without any consistent control over steering. And there's icebergs - Russia, China - that I don't know that we'll get into a collision with, but they are floating out there and we're drifting. That concerns me as a citizen. Many people who align ideologically with conservatism or at least anti-socialism really need to consider whether the GOP under Trump is still connected to first principles. I reject the team Elephant vs team Donkey choice. I'm supporting those individuals, without regard to party affiliation, that seem like they are qualified and I'm refusing to vote for anyone else.