Great Picks

            I was barely old enough to walk when Pearl Harbor was attacked, so I don’t have any memory of that day. But I do remember the time I visited the Arizona memorial in Pearl some years ago. The memory is vivid, because it was the last time I came close to punching somebody out. During our guide’s solemn talk about the events of December 7, 1941, I heard laughing and snickering behind me. I turned and glared at two young Japanese men who were showing a lack of respect for this sacred place. Fortunately for them—and my rising anger—they turned and walked away.

            I mention this because I am enormously pleased with President-elect Trump’s selection of General James “Mad Dog” Mattis to be our next Secretary of Defense. At last we will have a man who will not put up with the disrespect of our armed forces by Iran, China, or Russia. He will not be looking to send our troops into combat, but if forced to do so, he will not be satisfied with anything less than victory. And I suspect that our adversaries already know this and will no longer be laughing at us.

            The selection of Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt to head the EPA is another great move by Mr. Trump. It signals his intention to negate President Obama’s overreach through the EPA by imposing abusive climate-change rules like the Clean Power Plan that put the coal industry out of business. Congressional Democrats are going nuts over this appointment. We can expect a fierce fight when Pruitt’s confirmation hearing comes around.

            Not all of Trump’s picks are as good as Mattis or Pruitt. Mnuchin for Treasury Secretary is questionable and Ross for Commerce is awful. But by and large Trump is showing that he means to keep his campaign promises. Americans like that. That’s why Trumps’s approval numbers are soaring.