Because if he taps into General Kelly’s inherent qualities, the President could actually come out on the far side of these first six tumultuous months looking pretty good. Well, better than that, actually. He could come out with a plan to achieve a heckuva lot in his next six months … and longer.

He could make a full-court press for an infrastructure bill, make some progress on tax reform.

He could get his hands around a strategy for Afghanistan and maybe even sharpen the effort against ISIS in Syria.

He might finally find a road ahead with Russia, and he will certainly find in General Kelly a man who will contribute meaningfully to the very complex challenges North Korea poses.