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 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.

With the second Republican presidential debate tomorrow night, I had an idea last night and I followed through on it this morning.

When you hear the idea, you may wonder why I thought of it – and here’s the deal, the idea came to me while I was preparing for my colonoscopy exam later today.

Appropriate.

The idea:  To illustrate what I would like to ask if I was a “moderator” for the debate, whatever a “moderator” really is these days, I came up with questions I would pose to Donald Trump.  If he chose to participate in the debate, which, of course, he won’t.

These:

• Describe why you want to be president, especially given how you handled the job the last time around.

• Describe the role you propose for women in your administration if you win this time around.

• Follow-Up:  How does that jibe with verified reports of your intent and actions to treat women as nothing more than sexual objects?

• Another Follow-Up:  Describe the abuse you heaped on Jean Carroll?

• Describe the traits you value in a world leader.

• What are your aspirations for U.S relations with China?

• What are your aspirations for U.S. relations with North Korea?

• What are your aspirations for U.S. relations with Ukraine?

• What are your aspirations for U.S. relations with Russia?

• Do you think immigrants in this country – some would call them refugees escaping from threats and oppression in certain counties – have played any kind of valuable role here?

• Why does the evidence show that you enticed the mob on January 6 takeover the U.S. Capitol by force?

• Why did you and your colleagues over-value assets in New York City to obtain more insurance coverage, then under-value those same assets to pay less taxes?

• What is the total tax bill you have paid over the last 20-30 years?

• The definition of politics has been called “the art of compromise.”  What is your view of that kind of compromise, which is trying to find middle ground among extremes?

Would Trump answer any of these questions?  No.

He would do what he usually does which is deflect and smear, if nothing else, then the questioner.

The phrase that comes to mind about Trump:  Shuck and jive.

That’s what he always does to shift the issue to his latest falsehood where, ever-the-narcissist, he is always at the center, no matter the truth.