PERSPECTIVE FROM THE 19TH 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 (Les AuCoin), 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 could have called this blog “Middle Ground,” for that is what I long for in both politics and golf. The middle ground is often where the best public policy decisions lie. And it is where you want to be on a golf course.
Just for the sake of the argument, guess what happens if President Donald Trump is incapacitated or dies from the Covid-19 virus?
And, guess what happens if Vice-President Mike Pence suffers the same fate at nearly the same time.
Guess who becomes president?
The answer: Speaker of House Nancy Pelosi becomes president.
That’s the succession spelled out in the U.S. Constitution.
Imagine what Republicans would think or say if that happened!
Well, let’s not get ahead of ourselves this morning.
Democrat presidential candidate Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, led the way in what should be our main instinct this morning, the morning when we leaned that Trump and his wife, Melania, had contracted the virus.
We should wish for a speedy recovery for the Trumps.
Here is what the Bidens said:
“Jill and I send our thoughts to President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump for a swift recovery. We will continue to pray for the health and safety of the president and his family.”
Now, that’s statesmanship!
Perspective from the 19th Hole 