UNFORCED ERROR – AT 5:30 P.M. ET:  That is President Trump's ridiculous dispute with retired Navy Admiral William McRaven, who commanded the SEAL forces that killed Osama bin Laden.  It is a dispute the president can't win.

McRaven has a distinguished military record.  He has the support of a good part of the defense establishment.  He has also been harshly critical of the president, and has made statements about Mr. Trump that are over the top.  But what the public sees right now is the admiral's bin Laden raid, and all those medals.  The details are insignificant.  It is not a dispute the president needs.   Calling McRaven a Hillary Clinton fan, which may be true, is petty and beneath the presidency.  The president should put this behind him.

That being said, former military officers, if they make political statements, become fair game.  We do not have, nor should we have, a separate military class.  If you don't believe that, I give you two words – Douglas MacArthur.  MacArthur, a hero of both World War I and World War II, commanded UN forces in Korea after North Korea invaded South Korea in June of 1950.  But he became increasingly vocal about his disagreements with President Truman over strategy in the Far East, and Truman finally fired him.

The firing stunned America.  MacArthur returned home, not only as a hero, but as a martyr – the man who stood up to the unpopular president.  He was invited to address a joint session of Congress.  A Republican from Missouri, Dewey Short, pointed to the five-star general during the speech and said, "That's God up there."  Many Americans felt the same way.

Problem was, this god was selling a message that, once Americans understood it, they did not buy.  It was a message calling for expanded conflict. 

MacArthur wanted very much to be president, and fully expected that he might be drafted by the Republican Party in 1952.  But, at the party convention, he got one delegate vote.  The American people, in the fullness of time, had rejected him. 

I sense, and it is only my own speculation, that MacRaven sees himself in political office, and has thus become very assertive in his opposition to Mr. Trump.  If that is the case, he should recall the MacArthur example.  A military officer is thanked for his service, which is sincerely appreciated, but judged as a political figure once he enters the arena. 

Move on, Mr. President.   Don't pick unnecessary fights.  And be careful, Admiral.  Recall the old French proverb that the graveyards of the world are filled with indispensable men. 

November 19, 2018