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.

That was the headline in a Washington Post editorial this morning – and I agree with it.

At one point post-Donald Trump, I vowed never to write about him again.  I have broken the vow on a couple occasions and am doing so again, given what is at stake.

He so defamed the office of President of the United States that he deserves to remain defeated.  Still, though, he talks of rebounding.

And, for the life of me, I cannot understand why folks – even some of my friends – can stay tethered to Trump, apparently believing that he should rebound.

Here’s the detail of what the Post wrote:

“Many Republicans want the nation to ignore and forget President Donald Trump’s poisonous final months in office — the most dangerous moment in modern presidential history, orchestrated by the man to whom the GOP still swears allegiance.

“Yet,” the country must not forget how close it came to a full-blown constitutional crisis, or worse. Tuesday brought another reminder that, but for the principled resistance of some key officials, the consequences could have been disastrous.

The House Committee on Oversight and Reform on Tuesday released emails showing that the White House waged a behind-the-scenes effort to enlist the Justice Department in its crusade to advance Trump’s baseless allegations of fraud in the 2020 election.

“On December14, 10 days before Jeffrey Rosen took over as acting attorney general, Trump’s assistant emailed Rosen, asserting that Dominion Voting Systems machines in Michigan were intentionally fixed and pointing to a debunked analysis showing what ‘the machines can and did do to move votes.’  The email declared, ‘We believe it has happened everywhere.’

“Later that month, Trump’s assistant sent Rosen a brief that the president apparently wanted the Justice Department to submit to the Supreme Court.  The draft mirrored the empty arguments that the state of Texas made to the court before the justices dismissed the state’s lawsuit.

“Piling on the pressure, then-White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows also dispatched an email asking Rosen to examine allegations of voter fraud in Georgia.  A day later, Meadows apparently forwarded Rosen a video alleging that Italians used satellites to manipulate voting equipment.  These were just some of the preposterous White House emails claiming fraud in arguably the most secure presidential election ever.

“To his credit, Rosen rebuffed the White House’s entreaties to deploy the Justice Department’s vast powers on behalf of Trump’s lie, adding his name to the roster of honorable state and federal officials who showed fidelity to truth and duty at that crucial moment.

“Given Mr. Trump’s reckless actions after losing the 2020 vote, and the violence they spurred, the newly released emails are unsurprising.  But consider that fact for a moment:  It is unsurprising that the president of the United States leaned on the Justice Department to help him try to steal an election.  The country cannot forget that Trump betrayed his oath, that most Republican officeholders remain loyal to him nonetheless — and that it could be worse next time.”

The country should never forget the damage Trump did to the United States – and, thus, he should stay where he is, sequestered and out of touch…so “it cannot be worse next time.”