This is an interesting inside look at the refugee ‘ban’ screwup - interesting for me because it draws attention to something I think is key to how this highly unpredictable Trump presidency will go - namely, Mattis, Kelley and potentially depending on how he performs Tillerson are successful, respected, authoritative people who are likely [we hope] to find great favor in the public’s mind and maybe even the media’s, if only as a natural consequence of trying to balance their hatred of Trump - whereas Bannon, Miller etc will never have access to that kind or type of power - which means, if how the Trump White House performs and behaves comes down to who wins between the Bannon and Mattis camps, I’d say the ‘popularity’ and ‘respect’ the Mattis camp can command gives it the upper hand - assuming Trump appreciates this dynamic and acts accordingly - which, as everything with Trump, who the hell knows. I’d say Bannon clearly has the upper hand now - but the Mattis camp has a ‘public esteem’ card to play that should at least, assuming Trump isn't a complete idiot, get us to something of a draw. We hope.
