The fact that Mattis survived the Obama military purge, whereby he removed any and all strict constitutionalist, conservative military leaders over an 8 yr period, tells me all that I need to know about General Mattis. Obama ran off everyone that was good and supported the values that this country was founded and based on. Mattis survived this purge which means he's one of two things. He's one of the opposition at heart or he is a political operator at the highest level, both of which are unacceptable to me in a senior military commander. Do a little research on how many generals and senior military personnel were forced out by Obama as he decimated our military machine and built in back into his "model". The real war fighters were all run out/run off. I have the pleasure of personally knowing and associating with 2 of them on a regular basis and I thank them every time I see them for their service.