President-elect Trump’s Cabinet choices are being widely disseminated and scrutinized. Some have been real crowd-pleasers, like the selection of retired Marine General James Mattis for Secretary of Defense. Others have been more obscure. And then there’s the short list for Secretary of State.

Up until now, the “short list” consisted of four candidates: Mitt Romney, Rudy Giuliani, Senator Bob Corker (R-TN), and former General David Petraeus. And none of those men drew the wild excitement of a “Mad Dog” Mattis.

Romney, who had dinner with Trump last week, had a largely contentious relationship with Donald Trump throughout the election, and he’s not exactly beloved by the people turning out for the Trump rallies. Giuliani was a Trump supporter, but I don’t think that anyone would have considered foreign policy to be his strong suit. Corker is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, but is largely unknown outside of his home state. And then there’s Petraeus, who has a HUGE load of baggage of his own. After his disastrous outing on “This Week” on Sunday morning, there seems to be a shift happening in the Trump apparatus. Kellyanne Conway confirmed that the list of candidates for Secretary of State is expanding.

“It is true that [Trump] has broadened the search,” she told reporters at Trump Tower in New York City. “He continues to talk to different people. I think you’ve all seen the list before that already existed. I think there’ll be additional interviews with other candidates.”

While Conway declined to confirm other names being considered, the ones floating around are former Utah governor and ambassador to China Jon Huntsman, Exxon CEO Rex Tillerson, and former UN Ambassador John Bolton.

Either Huntsman or Bolton would be a much more credible choice than any of the initial “final four,” but Bolton – aka “The ‘Stache” – had some very interesting comments regarding Trump’s phone call with the president of Taiwan this week. This phone call put the media’s panties in a twist, and caused both the White House and China to do a double-take. And what did Bolton say?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ss6ik_viciw

“Honestly, I think we should shake the relationship up. For the past several years China has made aggressive… belligerent claims in the South China Sea,” he said on Fox & Friends.

Beijing views Taiwan as a rebel province of mainland China, and the United States has recognized China’s claim since President Jimmy Carter officially acknowledged the “one China” policy in 1979.

Therefore, Trump’s discussion with Tsai has been seen by some as a breach of protocol, but Bolton disagreed:

“Nobody in Beijing gets to dictate who we talk to. It’s ridiculous to think that the phone call upsets decades of anything.”

Bolton also confirmed briefly in the interview that yes, he talked with Donald Trump, and yes, he’d take the job as Secretary of State.

THIS is the Christmas present I really want. I honestly can’t think of anyone who would do a better job as Secretary of State than John Bolton. Many often commented, in the early days of the chaotic Trump presidential campaign, that his claims of hiring “the best people” seemed rather overblown. If Bolton is offered the position of Secretary of State, I might actually start to believe that claim. Leave the past candidates, the baggage, and the consistent supporters to the side, and pick someone who can do the job WELL.

Trump gave us Mad Dog. I hope that we now get The ‘Stache as well.