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 to 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 press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon, as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as 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 make all of the decisions for the enterprise.

In terms of good quotes, there have been a lot of options lately, so….

REGARDING “MEDICARE FOR ALL:” “Every candidate on the Democrat side who matters is in favor either of Medicare-for-all or some slightly less ominous version of it. The Democrats as a whole are committed to a platform of “if you like your private insurance, too bad, we are going to make it illegal (and demolish the jobs of everyone who works for the private insurance industry at the same time).”

COMMENT: Sounds a bit like what President Barack Obama promised when he promoted passage of his health care for all plan. “You can keep your doctor if you want,” he said, and, of course, that didn’t happen. This time around, the Ds appear to be wary of saying out loud that they will eliminate private insurance even if you like what you have, but that’s exactly what the D proposals would “achieve.”

JUDGING PAST DECISIONS: The Washington Post wonders, “How do we judge policy decisions made in the past? As a chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Joe Biden was an architect of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994.

“Among other things, the crime bill helped local governments hire tens of thousands of police officers, funded the construction of new prisons, enabled the federal death penalty, instituted the federal assault-weapons ban, and created several new federal crimes, including hate crimes, sex offenses and gang-related crimes. The bill was supported by an overwhelming majority of Democrats in both houses and signed by President Clinton.”

COMMENT: Hindsight is always 20-20 and, therefore, doesn’t amount to much, in my view. Many Democrats running for president pillory Biden for his criminal justice record, but, by hindsight, his decisions at the time made sense.

The same, I contend, is true for President George Bush (41) who acted to go into Iraq to look for weapons of mass destruction. At the time, the decision made sense. Today, it looks terrible because the weapons weren’t found.

TRUMP FINDS THE BEST OPPONENT IN 2020: The Wall Street Journal opines that “what the president has done is politically brilliant.”

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was trying to marginalize the so-called “Squad,” four far left-wing members of the House who make a habit of criticizing their D colleagues in over-the-top, we-like-Socialism terms.

COMMENT: It may not be political genius – I refuse to use that phrase for President Trump – but what he has managed to do so far is make it appear he is running against the “Squad,” not other Democrats. He has now identified the entire Democrat party with that group of four crazies.

And that is good for Republicans because the “Squad” is so far left that it cannot be found on any political spectrum.

A VERY GOOD QUOTE: “If you’ve been blessed, build a longer table, not a higher wall.” That came from the Wall Street Journal.

COMMENT: Apply this to the current arguments over immigration and you could get a picture of what everyone — Trump, Republicans and Democrats — should do, which is to solve the problem (build a larger table, not a higher wall) rather than blame each other in harsh terms.

I’VE HEARD OF DUPLICITY, BUT THIS TAKES THE CAKE: Reading from a teleprompter last Monday, Trump spoke about setting “destructive partisanship aside” and using “one voice” to “condemn racism, bigotry, and white supremacy.” It was a message that diverged from the slew of divisive, and at times racist, statements the president has publicly directed at minorities ranging from immigrants to lawmakers. The president’s scripted address also contained no mention of new gun legislation.

COMMENT: Trump says one thing one minute without regard to whether it comports with what he has said in the past. In this case – his comments on more shootings in America – are impossible to reconcile with his past comments which appear to promote racism and bigotry.