Electoral battles

No Country for Old Generals

A handful of Republican activists are waging a long-shot campaign to persuade retired Marine Corps Gen. James Mattis to run for president and save the GOP from potential electoral disaster this fall.

On paper, they seem to have a strong argument. GOP front-runners Donald Trump and Ted Cruz are deeply unpopular with broad swaths of the voting public. Retired generals like Mattis, by contrast, convey an aura of competence and courage, inspiring confidence that they will keep the country safe in dangerous times. With no record in elected office, former generals have no political baggage to alienate voters, and they are associated with one of the few American institutions that still enjoys wide public support.

But there has been no indication that the Republican leadership — or the country at large — is clamoring for a general to step into the race. There is also no sign that the 65-year-old Mattis wants the job or has the patience to enter the polarized and increasingly nasty political arena.