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.

Depending on your perspective, we stand today either on the precipice or the mountain top of new year, not to mention a “new decade.”

The passage of one decade into another is a bit of an artificial milestone. Still, various media outlets – yes, there are few credible ones left that don’t just pander to one conspiracy theory or another — are chronicling what happened between 2010 and 2020 and even adding notions about what may happen in 2020 and beyond.

The New York Times, in a “decade in review” piece, called the last 10 years “A Decade of Distrust.” Too negative? Perhaps.

In the Washington Post, Dave Barry wrote his annual look back at the last year (2019), not the last 10 years, and his piece was its usual hilarious read as, time and again he wondered what has made Brexit so important, not to mention so hard to define.

Donald Trump also came in for substantial criticism from Barry, as did Congress, which in Barry’s words, “resumed spending insane amounts of money that the nation does not have.”

I am not nearly as incisive as the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal or the Washington Post as they review the past decade, nor as witty as Barry, but, in this blog, I will list a few aspects of life in the last 10 years, as well as presume to propose actions for 2020 and beyond.

Too presumptuous? Yes. Still, for me, a useful exercise.

Reflection #1: The definition of family has changed. New York Times writers have reported that “an increasingly diverse array of arrangements has replaced “married-with-children paradigm” that most of us experienced as we grew up.

More from the Times: “Marriage is playing a smaller role within families, although one exception is same-sex couples, who are marrying at higher rates after winning the nationwide right to do so in 2015. Separately, multi-generational households are becoming more prevalent.”

Comment: The changing definition of family is not all bad and all of must remember to retain respect for all peoples, not just ones like us. But, if the changes mean the disintegration of family life, even amidst the still-emerging definition of family, that will be a foreboding development.

I do not mean here to criticize same-sex marriage, though I could. What I mean is that family, by whatever definition, should be a critical part of our future.

Reflection #2: Also according to the Times, institutional religion’s role is declining.   “More than one in four adults say they don’t identify with any religious group.”

Comment: I can understand that if you note that “organized religion” has become disorganized, if not passé, in its approach to the masses. But, if the fact that the role of religion is on the decline means that people ignore the reality of God, that is foreboding. For all of us should recognize God’s role in all of creation, including us.

Reflection #3: The people arriving in the U.S. are changing, too. The number of illegal immigrants from Mexico has declined significantly, and in their place have come families and children traveling alone, most from Central America. Still, to Trump and many of his ilk, immigrants are dirty people no matter where they live and want to come to the United States.

Comment: What Trump has done, over his three years in the Oval Office, is to define ALL immigrants as enemies. Surely there are scofflaws among immigrants, but to impugn the character of all them illustrates troubling realties: Many Americans don’t recognize the inherent value of most immigrants and they, too – the Americans — are either immigrants themselves or descended from immigrants who were looking for a better way of life.

They found it in the U.S. and here’s hoping that others will, too, so we, as a country, can continue to benefit from the melting pot.

Beyond just the immigrant issue, I was struck by the way New York Times writer Paul Waldman put it recently in an analysis of Trump.

“One of the central challenges that Donald Trump has faced over the course of his presidency,” Waldman writes, “is the need to keep supporters in a state of constant agitation. It’s an unending task, because, while you can get people angry enough to stomp to the polls to express their outrage, once you’ve won, it becomes hard to maintain that energy. The last thing you want is for them to feel satisfied, which could lead to complacency.

“Which is why Trump weaves a narrative of constant victimhood, telling his supporters not only that they are besieged and brutalized, but also that no one is more a victim than him. There has surely never been a president who spent so much time complaining — the media aren’t good enough to me, I’m not getting the credit I deserve, the Democrats don’t give me due process, my toilet isn’t powerful enough, it’s unfair, it’s unfair, it’s unfair.”

I appreciate Waldman’s words, which, for me, underscore what
Trump has done to vilify immigrants. Every day, we, as Americans, are subjected to scurrilous acts by the worst president in U.S. history who is not worthy to hold the nation’s highest office.

Reflection #4: Divisions in both American society and its political system have widened and hardened, much of the widening and hardening due to Trump who sets out to sow dissension, then capitalize on it.

The past decade has produced a more barren political landscape than at nearly any time in the recent past.   The parallel rise of populist and nationalist sentiment on the right and socialist sentiment on the left has left the political and social center smaller than ever.

Comment: As a veteran of political processes over more than 40 years, there is almost nothing more troubling in politics than Trump’s excesses, an element of which is the “barren center.” The center is where I try to reside, given the inherent complexity of the issues we face. They don’t lend themselves to simple “left” or “right” solutions, which are the ones that tend to be used by officials who say they represent us.

So, in the face of developments such as these, I propose several notions, which do not add up to some kind of automatic panacea, but are important – even as 2020 is a day away.

• We need to see people as people, not as some kind of threat to our own existence, as is the case with Trump.
• We need to avoid hating people with whom we happen to disagree, which is the exact opposite of Trump.  [One of my approaches will be continued in the coming year — I will set out to thank someone every day for their acts or attitudes that have benefited me.]
• We need to return to the notion of politics as the “art of compromise,” which is anathema to Trump and many others involved in politics these days, including those on the far left.
• We need to recognize the important role of individual effort as long as that effort does not trample on the rights of others – and that individual effort should be in sync with what I call “enlightened capitalism,” rather than the far-left-leaning version of socialism as advocated by many of those running for the Democrat nomination to be president.
• We need to consider the role of God in everyone’s life, recognizing what Christ has done to provide a path to life with God, if you choose that path – and, make no mistake, it is a

Will such values as these solve all of the problems we face? Of course not. But, at the same time, they will be a way to a more rational existence as we anticipate a new year and a new decade.

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.

We have just come through another Christmas, so, before too much more time elapses and we begin to focus on the New Year, just a few words on ”our” Christmas traditions.

Christmas is always is a great time for me and my family. One of the reasons is that my wife, Nancy, has established a range of Christmas activities, which have become traditions, ones our kids (and grandkids) don’t want to miss, even as they celebrate the season with their own, smaller families.

The activities listed below are secondary to the real meaning of Christmas, which is the time Christ came to earth to be born as a baby and, based on his life, provide a way for us to have a relationship with Him.

Here is a brief summary of the traditions Nancy has emphasized for our family over the years:

Breakfast: One of the highlights is a breakfast meal – the same one every year. A feature is sweet rolls that rise overnight and, then, in the oven, are warmed with brown sugar and who knows what else top make them the highlight of the meal.=

The rolls are combined with bacon, eggs, berries and mimosas to make a feast.

Presents in stockings: Breakfast is preceded by a time to open stockings. Everyone has one, which, for a few days, have been hung over the fireplace.=

More presents: After breakfast, we open all of other presents, which is a time for the grandkids to exclaim over various gifts. Seeing their faces lights up the house!

The Christmas tree: Several years ago, after usually cutting down a live tree as a family Christmas experience, we opted for an artificial tree. Time has shown it was a good decision.

But not just because of the “new” tree, which is the same one every year.

One of the most meaningful traditions around our house revolves around a major tradition, one owing – as with all other Christmas traditions — to the forethought and commitment of my wife.

Since she was a little girl, she has collected Christmas tree ornaments so that, today, she has more than 500. Just think how long it takes to place the ornaments on the tree or take them down after Christmas!   A long time.

But it’s worth it.

We have the most incredible tree in all of the world!

The Christmas Story: Another tradition is always to read the Christmas story chronicled in Luke Chapter 2. The words are, (a) very meaningful to describe the miracle of Christ’s birth, and (b) assure that, along with a great tree, a traditional breakfast and Christmas presents, all of his remember the real meaning of Christmas – the time of the birth of Christ who came to provide a way of salvation for all of us.

So, thanks to my wife for all of our Christmas traditions. They are meaningful every year, including the one just past.

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.

My answer to the question in this blog headline is yes. And, I found some.

It is the good news of the Salem Free Clinic.

Forget about the impeachment of one Donald Trump and his various violations of character. Forget about other aspects of bad news trumpeted by various media, especially local TV stations, trying to woo listeners, viewers and readers. Forget about the far left Democrats who want to change this country.

Just focus on the Free Clinic.

It is a piece of good news sponsored by various charitable organizations in the Salem-Keizer communites, plus the volunteerism of publicly-spirited individuals – along with, incredibly, 70 area churches which have banded together to do the “good work.”

Those involved didn’t believe that the “Affordable Health Care Act,” which was passed several years ago by Congress, would do the job of providing health care to every citizen. It may have been well-intentioned, but it just would not extend to all populations.

Neither did Clinic supporters believe the so-called “Medicare for All Plan” would ever see the light of day.

So, they acted. They created a place for citizens to get free health care if they didn’t already have coverage.

Here are a couple stories about Free Clinic results:

• A homeless woman came to the clinic struggling with a painful abscessed tooth. She was prescribed an antibiotic for the infection and was able to have the diseased tooth extracted one week later. A patient navigator at the Clinic was able to provide the patient with food boxes and bus vouchers.
• Last month, a new walk-in patient came to the Clinic experiencing extreme abdominal pain. An ultra-sound revealed bladder cancer. The patient was referred to Kaiser Permanente, which agreed to provide, at no cost, all the specialized care and resources to treat the cancer.

Every patient who walks into the facility – it is housed in a building called Broadway Commons, which is adjacent to one of the major church sponsors, Salem Alliance Church — receives free care. [In the spirit of full disclosure, my wife and I have attended Salem Alliance for more than 30 years and we appreciate its emphasis on helping Salem “to become a city at peace with God,” one aspect of which is the Free Clinic.]

Providing the care costs an estimated $120 per visit, but that cost is covered by donations from interested parties, including those who attend the 70 churches that work together to operate the Clinic.

Money doesn’t tell all of the story, of course, though a recent “return on community investment study” reported that the Clinic provides $3 million in benefits to the patients and the community.

What does tell the story are the incredible accounts of those who receive needed help, as well as the commitment of many in the Salem-Keizer area to “put feet to the Gospel.”

By that I mean that, if those individuals who walk into the Clinic want counseling, they get it. The goal is to help individuals understand that, beyond Clinic services, God cares for them, as well.

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.

Consider the words of a hymn, one that, thankfully, was part of several of our church services during this Christmas season.

O Holy Night

The stars are brightly shining

It is the night of our dear Savior’s birth

Long lay the world in sin and error pining

‘Til He appeared and the soul felt its worth

A thrill of hope a weary world rejoices

For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn

Fall on your knees, O hear the angel voices

O night divine, O night when Christ was born

O night divine, O night, O night divine

Truly He taught us to love one another

His law is love and His gospel is peace

Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother

And in His name all oppression shall cease

Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we

Let all within us praise His holy name

Just think for a moment about those words, including these sentences: “His law is love and his gospel is peace. Chains shall he break, for the slave is our brother. And, in his name, all oppression shall cease.”

Love and peace. No one is a slave to another. Oppression shall cease.

Doesn’t sound like this world, does it? Because it’s not this world during a time marked by dissension, distrust and violence, the latter in word, if not in deed.

So it was, with these words echoing in my mind, that I came across the headline, which I used for this blog. It appeared over a column in the Washington Post by one of my favorite writers, Michael Gerson.

A former speechwriter for President George Bush, Gerson demonstrates two traits – a solid writing ability, and an acute sense of analysis. And all of this is informed by his Christian convictions.

The word he uses – “advent” — is not necessarily in common usage these days, though its meaning is clear:

Advent is the start of something.

Here is how the dictionary defines the term:

• Coming into place, view, or being; arrival: The advent of the holiday season.
• The coming of Christ into the world – and, specifically, the period beginning four Sundays before Christmas, observed in commemoration of the coming of Christ into the world.

Gerson makes the point that, even in the face of confounding issues in the U.S. and the world, “advent” fosters a sense of hope because it remembers the day Christ came into the world to develop a way for each of us to have a relationship with Him.

“America’s political culture,” Gerson continues, “is dominated by fear. For some, it is fear that the triumph of progressivism would bring anti-religious persecution and fundamentally alter the American way of life. For others, it is fear that the re-election of President Trump would remove the last restraints on his cruelty, vindictiveness and contempt for the rule of law.

“My anxieties are firmly in the second camp. But the general mood of trepidation is universal. Our greatest political passion seems dedicated not to the pursuit of dreams, but to the avoidance of nightmares.

“This is the time of the Christian year dedicated to expectant longing. God, we are assured, is at mysterious work in the world. Evil and conflict are real, but not ultimate. Grace and deliverance are unrealized, but certain. Patient waiting is rewarded because the trajectory of history is tilted upward by a powerful hand.

“This is the fullest expression of the hope of advent — that all wrongs will finally be righted, that all the scales will eventually balance and that no one will be exploited or afraid. But this hope is not yet fulfilled.

“Poets and theologians have strained for ways to describe this sense of anticipation. It is like a seed in the cold earth. Like the first barely detectable signs of a thaw. Like a child growing in a womb.”

Gerson weaves his words into an incredible picture – a picture of a world marked by hope that God is returning to “establish his kingdom,” which will be marked by no slavery, no oppression and peace.

I choose – yes, it is a choice – to rest in this HOPE. God is returning and, meanwhile, we can have a relationship with Him through what Christ has done for us, a relationship defined very well by the words of O Holy Night.

Truly He taught us to love one another

His law is love and His gospel is peace

Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother

And in His name all oppression shall cease

Great emphases and hope for this Christmas season!

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.

I was asked the question in the headline the other day as a good friend of mine wondered why, as I centrist, I have tended lately to deviate toward the Democrat side of the political ledger.

The question came, I think, because, on several past occasions, I have expressed concern that Democrats, especially those running for president, as well as various members of the U.S. House, have veered so far left as not to be found on any past political spectrum.

And, I also have railed against the excesses of one Donald Trump.

So, yes, I consider myself to be a centrist, one who doesn’t favor the excesses of either the Ds or the Rs and who wants respectful and solid debate on issues facing this country. Tough to find these days.

On impeachment, I support it for a simple reason.

Donald Trump is not worthy of being president. We cannot tolerate another year of what he views as his “reign,” much less four more years if he wins the presidency in 2020.

Trump has sold out America for his own ends in trying to win re-election and now wants us to trust him until the next rigged election.

He has taken American tax money, which had been approved by Congress on a bi-partisan vote to help Ukraine fight against Russia, and held money as leverage to bribe a foreign country to investigate one of his main rivals for election.

The fact that Republican sycophants cannot see that is because they aren’t looking.

Washington Post writer Jennifer Rubin, commenting on the impeachment vote, contended that the Republican Party “has lost its bearings and its soul to defend an unhinged narcissist.”

At the same time, Wall Street Journal writer Peggy Noonan wrote that many Democrats have placed themselves “outside the mainstream of American politics,” which means that, by extension, they are playing into Trump’s hands.

Noonan continues: “In almost every national public presentation this year, especially in their presidential debates, Democrats branded themselves not as what they had to be — a sophisticated party with a working-class heart — but what they couldn’t be — extreme left-wing progressives.

“From their first debates in June, their major candidates announced themselves to be for sharply higher taxes, banning private health insurance, the Green New Deal, free college, complete student loan forgiveness, free health insurance for illegal aliens, and functionally open borders. At least one candidate said America’s religious institutions should lose their tax-exempt status if they oppose same-sex marriage. They are extreme on abortion — no limits, ever — and in their support of identity politics, which sees not a country but a thousand warring tribes endlessly rewarded for being at each other’s throats.”

So, as what I call myself, “a centrist,” I say a pox on both sides of a current political process that threatens America’s system of governance. If middle ground cannot be found, we’ll all be losers.

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.

If history was made yesterday – the U.S. House voting in favor of two articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump, only the third time a president has been impeached in U.S. history — then what was that history?

How should it be characterized?

There are various views.

To Democrats in the House (and probably in the Senate, as well), Trump committed acts that compromise the national security of the U.S. and risk a reality that the 2020 election will be tainted.

To Republicans in the House (and probably in the Senate, as well), all Democrats want to do is overturn the 2016 election, an action they have wanted to take for three years and finally succeeded with the impeachment votes.

Various commentators have said the vote will be, forever, a stain on the Trump presidency, however long the presidency lasts. [In the spirit of full disclosure, I did not watch FOX news yesterday, so I have no idea what Trump publicists Sean Hannity and Tucker Carlson said about the impeachment vote, though I can imagine.]

Don’t expect Trump to recognize the stain on his record.

He’ll use it to inflame, just as he was doing in Michigan at the very moment of the House vote.

Washington Post editorial writers – yeah, okay, they are usually a bit left of center, though not over-the-top left — put it this way:

“Wednesday’s action punctuated a quarter-century of increasingly poisonous partisanship in Washington, one that arguably began during Bill Clinton’s presidency, was extended with rebellions against presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, and is culminating in the Trump era.

“The intensity and polarization of the debate on the House floor vividly illustrated the extent to which leaders of the two parties now believe entirely different accounts of what occurred and are motivated by different concerns. At times they sounded almost as if they were representing different countries.

“That is what it means to uphold the Constitution. If you ignore it, if you say the president may refuse to comply, may refuse lawful process, may coerce an ally, may cheat in an election because he’s the president of our party, you do not uphold our Constitution.”

Washington Post analyst Dan Balz, a multi-year veteran of politics in the Nation’s Capitol, wrote this:

“Trump has been defiant throughout the process and perhaps for reasons beyond his assertions that he did nothing wrong in pressuring Ukraine to investigate a potential 2020 political rival. The president’s angry letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, released a day ahead of the House vote, seemed to reflect his understanding of what was about to transpire.

“As always with this president, the six pages of blistering language highlighted his determination to have both his words and his feelings clearly reflected in the historical record.

“But that written record, like much else that emanates from the president in tweets, speeches and other public appearances, was replete with exaggerations, distortions and outright falsehoods. Which is how the extraordinary has become ordinary, if no less an issue of his presidency. However much he has deviated from the truth, he has shown the ability to tell the story the way he wants people to hear it, especially those in his base.”

No surprise there. Trump appeals to his base with little care for honesty, integrity and ethics. His Republican sycophants in the House also display little care for the “how” of politics and just want the “what” – incendiary language that shows how much they revere Trump.

Consider these fulminations on the House floor yesterday by some of the Republicans as chronicled by Dana Milbank in the Washington Post:

“Democrats are the ones, Representative Tom McClintock (R-California) said, who committed a ‘stunning abuse of power.’ Democrats are the ones, Representative Tom Rice (R-South Carolina) said, who ‘colluded with Russia and Ukraine.’ Democrats are the ones, Representative Steve King (R-Iowa) said, who engaged in ‘the largest and most massive cover-up of such a list of crimes against our country.’

“Democrats are the ones, Representative Peter King (R-New York) said, who committed an ‘assault on the Constitution.’ Democrats are the ones, Representative Tim Walberg (R-Michigan) said, who are ‘interfering in America’s election.’ Democrats are the ones, Representative Roger Marshall (R-Kansas) said, who ‘have dangerously shattered precedents.’

Representative Clay Higgins (R-Louisiana) said Democrats are “insidious forces which threaten our republic” with “betrayal.” This “threat from within,” he said, did “conspire to overthrow President Trump.”

It got worse.

Incredibly, Representative Barry Loudermilk (R-Georgia) compared Democrats unfavorably to Pontius Pilate in the story of Jesus. Representative Fred Keller (R-Pennsylvania) likened Democrats to those who killed Jesus (‘they know not what they do’). Representative Mike Kelly (R-Pennsylvania) likened impeachment to the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Really!

To Republicans, I say vote the way your conscience prods you to vote, but never compare Trump stuff to the story of Jesus!

For me, a long time political junkie, there are at least two major concerns here.

First, our system of governance in this country is broken. Neither side listens to the other in any way, shape or form. There is no middle ground.

Second, the failure of that system of governance threatens the very future of our democracy.

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.

Even as the U.S. House is debating impeachment at this moment, I write again about the bottom line for me.

By Trump’s defenders, we – as Americana – are being asked to just head to the 2020 election rather that support impeachment.

Sure, we are supposed to trust that the election will be fair. It won’t be.

To buttress this point, I point to a column by Dana Milbank that appeared this morning in the Washington Post. He writes that, not only does Trump stanbd accused of asking a foreign government to intrude into the election on his behalf, he is continuing to seek the what has been labeled “a favor.”

Rather than post more of my comments on this blog, I simply will quote excerpts of what Milbank has written.

**********

It was as if an accused white-collar criminal, during jury selection for his bribery trial, had offered the judge a briefcase full of unmarked bills.

Or if a drug offender, taking the stand to defend himself against charges that he trafficked in narcotics, had tried to sell a brick of cocaine to the jury foreman.

But it really happened. Even as the House on Tuesday worked out the rules of the debate that will almost certainly see President Trump impeached by Wednesday night, Trump and his team continued to commit the very offenses for which he is being punished.

As the Rules Committee moved to the floor an impeachment article alleging Trump had abused his office by soliciting foreign help for his reelection campaign, Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, boasted to CNN that Trump is “very supportive” of Giuliani’s ongoing efforts to dig up political dirt in Ukraine that would help with Trump’s reelection campaign.

“We’re on the same page,” a defiant Giuliani, fresh from a dirt-seeking trip to Ukraine, said of Trump. “Just in case you think we’re on defense, we’re not.”

It was the latest stop on Giuliani’s media tour — of Fox News, the New Yorker, the New York Times and the Post — boasting about Trump’s active engagement in Giuliani’s attempts to get dirt on Joe Biden and to bulldoze, with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s help, U.S. officials who stand in their way.

The moment Giuliani’s plane touched down from Ukraine last week, he said, Trump called him to ask, “What did you get?” He boasted that he forced out corruption-fighting ambassador Marie Yovanovitch because he needed her “out of the way.” He says he’s writing up a 20-page report full of the dirt he has dug for Trump.

And Trump doesn’t disagree. “He does this out of love, believe me,” the president said of Giuliani on Monday.

In response, Democrats must show their love, too — of the rule of law, the sanctity of elections and democracy itself — by impeaching this recidivist president. Trump continues to cheat in the 2020 election.

**********

Point made. We cannot trust the 2020 election, so why wait for it.

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.

Let it be said that the Washington Post agrees with me.

When it comes to the impeachment process, I wrote in this blog that it made no sense to me that, instead of the process, we should just wait until the next election in 2020.

Sure.

Wait for an election that is already tainted and will continue to be skewed in favor of Trump by actions Trump himself takes, immune as he is to anything and anyone who fails to bow before the Trump altar

With a series of intentional act by the president, U.S. democracy is being turned on its head.

Here’s the way the Post made the same point:

“President Trump has fallen into a pattern of behavior: This is not the first time he has solicited foreign interference in an election, been exposed, and attempted to obstruct the resulting investigation.

“He will almost certainly continue on this course.

“We cannot rely on the next election as a remedy for presidential misconduct when the president is seeking to threaten the very integrity of that election.”

For me, that is the bottom line of the impeachment process. Go forward with it because we cannot trust the next election.

A footnote.

More than 750 historians across the national have signed on to a letter that verifies Trump’s abuse of power. Here is what the letter said:

“President Trump’s numerous and flagrant abuses of power are precisely what the Framers had in mind as grounds for impeaching and removing a president. The president’s offenses, including his dereliction in protecting the integrity of the 2020 election from Russian disinformation and renewed interference, arouse once again the framers’ most profound fears that powerful members of government would become, in Hamilton’s words, ‘the mercenary instruments of foreign corruption.’”

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.

If you think about it only for a minute, it’s mind-boggling.

Trump is guilty of a host of crimes.

Writing in the New York Times, Paul Waldman puts it this way:

“Throughout his life, Trump used his wealth as a shield against accountability, allowing him to commit all manner of misdeeds. Again and again, he deceived, dominated or defeated people who had less power than him and institutions incapable of constraining him, whether it was a women he abused, a small business owner he stiffed on a bill, a mark whose life savings he stole with one of his scams, workers left holding the bag when he walked away from his debts or a government agency that didn’t realize he was defrauding it until the statute of limitations had expired.”

Republicans in Congress don’t agree and are defending Trump at every turn, believing, it would appear, that their own future in politics depends on being tied ever more closely to a terrible public figure, Trump.

The trouble is they might be right.

Trump could win in 2020 because, for one thing, Democrats may propose a candidate with no ability to encourage voters to a higher calling than to support a scofflaw.

Many Democrats running for president are so far left as to be off any semblance of a political spectrum. They want to transform the country, making it essentially a socialist state as government provides everything for everybody.

At least three Democrats in the presidential sweepstakes are not so far left – Pete Buttigieg, Joe Biden and Amy Klobuchar. But each of them carries deficits that may harm their chances – Buttigieg is young and gay, Biden is old and prone to verbal gaffes, and Klobuchar is not well known enough to carry a national profile.

For me, given Trump’s conduct, he cannot be trusted to act in the national interest. As a narcissist, all he sees is his own interest and he proves it every day.

This is the essential definition of Trump – a narcissist. If you consider what appears in the following paragraphs, it sounds just like Trump.

In the December issue of The Atlantic, Dan P. McAdams, a psychology professor at Northwestern University, provided thoughtful insight into this mental health ailment – narcissism.

“Psychological research,” he wrote, “demonstrates that many narcissists come across as charming, witty, and charismatic upon initial acquaintance. They can attain high levels of popularity in the short term. As long as they prove to be successful and brilliant, they may be able to weather criticism and retain their exalted status.

“But more often than not, narcissists wear out their welcome. Over time, people become annoyed, if not infuriated, by their self-centeredness. When narcissists begin to disappoint those they once dazzled, their descent can be especially precipitous. There is still truth in the ancient proverb: Pride goeth before the fall.

“Nearly three years into Trump’s presidency, how does this generalization about narcissism hold up for him?

“On the one hand, many of the people who have staffed Trump’s administration have learned that he is not the ‘stable genius’ he claims to be. Disappointed and beaten down, they have left in droves. On the other hand, Trump has retained the loyal backing of many voters despite scandal, outrage, and chaos.

“How is this possible?

“Why has Trump followed the predictable course for narcissism in one way, alienating many who have served in his administration, and defied expectations in another way, by continuing to attract an adoring core?

“At its mythic heart, narcissism is a story of disappointment. The ancient source is the Greek tale of Narcissus, a beautiful young boy who falls in love with his reflection in a pool. Captivated with his beguiling image, Narcissus vows never to leave the object of his desire.

“But the reflection — forever outside his embrace — fails to reciprocate, and as a result Narcissus melts away, a victim of the passion burning inside of him. The lover’s inconsolable disappointment is that he cannot consummate his love for the reflection, his love for himself.

“A real-life narcissist, by contrast, manages to take his eyes off himself just long enough to find out if others are looking at him. And if the narcissist has admirers, this makes him feel good. It temporarily boosts his self-esteem.

“Likewise, his admirers feel a rush of excitement and allure. They enjoy being in the presence of such a beautiful figure—or a powerful, creative, dynamic, charismatic, or intriguing figure. They bask in his reflected glory, even if they find his self-obsession to be unseemly. As time passes, however, the admirers grow weary.

“Once upon a time, they thought the narcissist was the greatest, but now they suspect that he is not. Or maybe they just get tired of him, and disgusted with all the self-admiration. They become disappointed, for very few narcissists can consistently provide the sufficient beauty, power, and greatness to sustain long-term unconditional devotion. In the end, everybody loses.

“The former fans loathe themselves for being fools, or else they blame the narcissist for fooling them. And the narcissist never attains what can never be humanly attained anyway: supreme and unending love and adoration of the self.”

This describes Trump perfectly. He fawns over himself and, if others don’t follow suit, then he derides them, often in terms marked by his own fear and loathing.

As one example, consider Trump’s comments about the late senator John McCain. When McCain, a genuine American war hero, didn’t bow at the throne of Trump, then, to Trump, he was not worth anything, so in hugely derogatory terms, he said so.

Narcissism explains a lot about Trump. I just wish those who have fawned over Trump will become, as the writer above says, “annoyed, if not infuriated, by Trump’s self-centeredness and will just get tired of him, disgusted with all the self-admiration.”

It cannot happen too soon for this country.

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.

A writer in the Wall Street Journal has drawn an appalling stupid on the quid pro issue.

It is this:

• On one hand stands President Donald Trump who dangled a quid pro quo pro to Ukraine leader Volodymyr Zelensky in an effort to rig the next presidential election in Trump’s favor.
• On the other handstands House Speaker Nancy Pelosi who, it is said, offered a quid pro quo to prod her Democrat colleagues to vote in favor of impeachment when it reaches the House floor next week. [For the record, she denies “whipping her members, which is Congress talk for trying to compel votes.]

The difference?

Trump sold out the country for his personal gain, thus creating an incredible taint on the next presidential election. Meanwhile, Trump acolytes in the U.S. House want us to wait for that tainted election.

Pelosi, by contrast, did the work of being a political leader by rounding up votes in a legislative body, even as she averred she would not try to compel members to vote one way or the other – as if she could compel in the first place.

She did not sell out the national interest for her personal gain.

For Pelosi, there is no illegal quid pro quo.

For Trump, there is an illegal quid pro quo.

If we needed more evidence of Trump’s misdeeds, the Ukraine case is stark and growing starker — if that is a word.

As California Representative Eric Swalwell has summarized: Investigators learned that Trump sent Rudy Giuliani to Ukraine to get dirt on Joe Biden, directed two ambassadors to work with Giuliani, fired an anti-corruption ambassador to Ukraine, told Vice President Pence not to go to the Ukrainian inauguration, had his staff chief withhold Ukraine’s military assistance, refused a White House meeting with Ukraine’s president, ignored his advisers’ anti-corruption talking points, asked the Ukrainian president for “a favor” and for an investigation into opponent Biden, confirmed it publicly, asked China to do the same, and blocked investigators from learning more.

Trump is still doing it. Guilani just returned from Ukraine and will be telling Trump about new dirt he has dug up against Joe Biden.

Enough!