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.

Every once in awhile, a candidate comes along who restores just a bit of faith that politics is not all bad.

Such a candidate appears to be Andy Beshear who just won re-election as governor of Kentucky.

What I know about him could be written on the head of a pin.

So, I relied on a quote from columnist David Brooks in the New York Times.  It caught my attention:

“Governor Andy Beshear, a Democrat, did so well in Kentucky in part because he stayed close to the practicalities, focusing on boring old governance issues like jobs, health care costs, and investment in infrastructure.

“He also demonstrated a Christian faith that was the opposite of Christian nationalism.  As he told E.J. Dionne Jr. of The Washington Post, ‘For me, faith is about uniting all people.  It says all children are children of God. And if you’re truly living out your faith, you’re not playing into these anger and hatred games.’”

How’s that for a statement of Christian faith!

I could have said what Beshear said.  I love the point, especially when juxtaposed against so-called “Christian nationalism” in this country, which is peddled by those who claim Christianity, but only want it to be white, to be opposed to groups of people (especially gays and immigrants), and to be in favor of anything anti-abortion.

Those who voted for Beshear in Kentucky deserve credit for their decision.  We need more political figures like him.