PERSPECTIVE FROM THE 19^TH HOLE: This is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus use an image from my favorite sport, golf. Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all of my professional positions, including as a Congressional press secretary in Washington, D.C., an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and a private sector lobbyist. This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.

This, remember, is one of three departments I run with a free hand to manage them as I choose. Call me a dictator, not a director.

GETTING MY HANDS BACK ON PAPER: As a former journalist for a daily newspaper, I always have been fond of holding paper in my hands – even if it meant getting newsprint on my fingers – to read stories about news, sports and other topics.

So, it was that, in this age of technology, I had become more comfortable than I realized looking at newspapers – including the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post, not to mention the Oregonian and the Salem Statesman-Journal – on-line.

Then, this morning, there was a change.

My copy of the Wall Street Journal came early so I was able to read it in my hands.

Good.

I’ll probably continue following a combination of on-line and real-paper newspapers, but I have to confess that it was good to get back this morning to my former dirty-hands process.

REMEMBERING A GREAT QUOTE: Remember when then U.S. Senator Lloyd Bentsen, running for vice president a number of years ago, effectively skewered his opponent, Republican Dan Quayle, in a national debate.

With a hint of a sly grin on his face, Bentsen said, “Mr. Quayle, you are no Ted Kennedy!”

Quayle never recovered from the jibe.

All of this was called to mind this morning when I read a column in the Wall Street Journal by William McGurn. It was headlined, “She’s no Ted Kennedy!”

It was in reference to Senator Elizabeth Warren, who wants the top liberal mantle as she runs for president in 2020.

“Here’s some bad news for Senator Warren,” McGurn wrote. “I remember Ted Kennedy. I watched when Ted Kennedy turned Robert Bork’s name into a nasty verb. And I say this to the woman who now holds the late senator’s seat: Ms. Warren, you are no Ted Kennedy.”

TOUGH CHOICES AREN’T REALLY THAT TOUGH: I write that after reading another column in the Wall Street Journal this morning, one by Gerald Seib, who often comments sagely about political developments.

This morning, here is what he wrote:

“All of this means Republican candidates have a dual mission right now: Keep motivating base Trump voters, who want full-throated defenses of the president and odes to his hard-line immigration policies, while also luring mainstream Republicans and independents who dislike the president, but like lower taxes and less regulation.”

Seib is probably right – Republicans need to expand their tent in order to avoid a Democrat takeover this fall. But my view is that the good economic news – lower taxes and less regulation – could happen with another president, probably a Republican. What I cannot stomach is Trump’s continuing over-the-top, blabber-mouth, unethical behavior, which he continues to exhibit every day.