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.

Only a day or so after his passing, the U.S. senator from Arizona, John McCain, appeared to have the last word in his continuing fight with President Donald Trump.

In a farewell letter (which is worth publishing in its entirety in this blog – see below), McCain didn’t mention Trump by name, but delivered a veiled rebuke, as he “called on Americans to rally behind the country’s founding ideals rather than hiding behind walls and succumbing to political tribalism. “

McCain’s letter continued: “We weaken our greatness when we confuse our patriotism with tribal rivalries that have sown resentment and hatred and violence in all the corners of the globe. We weaken it when we hide behind walls, rather than tear them down, when we doubt the power of our ideals, rather than trust them to be the great force for change they have always been.”

The Wall Street Journal called “The extraordinary letter a defiant coda to the years-long battle between the two men,” which started when Trump, incredibly, said McCain, who spent more than five years as a POW in Vietnam, was “not a war hero because he was captured.” Trump continued to snub the longtime senator throughout his battle with brain cancer.

McCain, in turn, pulled no punches in criticizing the president on foreign policy and other issues, most recently in a stinging denunciation of Trump’s summit with Russian President Vladi­mir Putin in Helsinki last month.

For Trump, flags at the White House even became an issue. First, he ordered that flags be flown at half-staff for only one day, a decision which stood in contrast to other such decisions on the passing of major public officials. Then, under increasing criticism, Trump wilted and ordered the flags at half-staff until McCain’s interment.

As for the last word, here is a reprint of letter McCain wrote for release after his death.

“My fellow Americans, whom I have gratefully served for sixty years, and especially my fellow Arizonans,

“Thank you for the privilege of serving you and for the rewarding life that service in uniform and in public office has allowed me to lead. I have tried to serve our country honorably. I have made mistakes, but I hope my love for America will be weighed favorably against them.

“I have often observed that I am the luckiest person on earth. I feel that way even now as I prepare for the end of my life. I have loved my life, all of it. I have had experiences, adventures and friendships enough for ten satisfying lives, and I am so thankful. Like most people, I have regrets. But I would not trade a day of my life, in good or bad times, for the best day of anyone else’s.

“I owe that satisfaction to the love of my family. No man ever had a more loving wife or children he was prouder of than I am of mine. And I owe it to America. To be connected to America’s causes – liberty, equal justice, respect for the dignity of all people – brings happiness more sublime than life’s fleeting pleasures. Our identities and sense of worth are not circumscribed but enlarged by serving good causes bigger than ourselves.

“‘Fellow Americans’ – that association has meant more to me than any other. I lived and died a proud American. We are citizens of the world’s greatest republic, a nation of ideals, not blood and soil. We are blessed and are a blessing to humanity when we uphold and advance those ideals at home and in the world. We have helped liberate more people from tyranny and poverty than ever before in history. We have acquired great wealth and power in the process.

“We weaken our greatness when we confuse our patriotism with tribal rivalries that have sown resentment and hatred and violence in all the corners of the globe. We weaken it when we hide behind walls, rather than tear them down, when we doubt the power of our ideals, rather than trust them to be the great force for change they have always been.

“We are three-hundred-and-twenty-five million opinionated, vociferous individuals. We argue and compete and sometimes even vilify each other in our raucous public debates. But we have always had so much more in common with each other than in disagreement. “If only we remember that and give each other the benefit of the presumption that we all love our country we will get through these challenging times. We will come through them stronger than before. We always do.

“Ten years ago, I had the privilege to concede defeat in the election for president. I want to end my farewell to you with the heartfelt faith in Americans that I felt so powerfully that evening.

“I feel it powerfully still.

“Do not despair of our present difficulties but believe always in the promise and greatness of America, because nothing is inevitable here. Americans never quit. We never surrender. We never hide from history. We make history.

“Farewell, fellow Americans. God bless you, and God bless America.”

And, I say farwell, John McCain, a true American hero, imperfect, to be sure, as we all are, but still a hero for his principled sacrifice and strong stands over his 81-year life.

******

As a footnote, the U.S. Senate is considering an appropriate tribute for McCain, but the decision will wait until after McCain’s memorial services. One option is to rename the Russell Senate Office Building after McCain, at least in part because of Senator Russell’s pro-segregation stance.