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 (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.

There is no need to have a professional motto, but I did have one over the years.

It was this:

Work hard and smart to make a difference.

Notice, the word was “a,” not “the.”

Hard to make “the” difference at all times.  It is more logical to make “a” difference in your work. 

In my case, the work was lobbying on behalf of many clients who needed my best effort on their behalf for them to succeed.  Making a difference was what I set out to do every day.

Making “a difference” could involve small touches to make sure clients understood I was working in their best interests.  Or, making “a difference” could involve larger-gauge issues to achieve client objectives.

Beyond my motto, speaking of words, I also dealt with various phrases during my 25-year career as a lobbyist.  Not mottos.  Just phrases.  In previous posts, I may have referred to them, but here is a list:

• Many legislators dealt with issues as if they were part of a circular firing squad

• Or, to make a political point, legislators often practiced this — ready, shoot, aim

• If I wanted to kill a bill, I might say it represented a camel’s nose under the tent

• Or, to use another “kill a bill” phrase, it would constitute the first step down a slippery slope

• One of my favorite legislators over years used this phrase — what goes around comes around – to convey a kye point about the lawmaking process — passing legislation often involves starting, stopping, and then starting again, all with recognition of making enemies in the process is stupid.  Just make your points and move on.

And, back to one of my important mottos, perhaps secondary to the one above, but still critical.  It was this aspiration:  Your word is your bond.

If lobbyists and legislators lived up to that, it would improve the process of lawmaking.