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.

At the risk of giving myself a compliment, a recent example underscores the worth of what I do most days, which is to read both the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post.

The Journal on the right.  The Post on the left.  Neither to the extreme.

This week, I got what I expected – two views on President Joe Biden.

Rove is a critic.  Rubin is a supporter.

To illustrate, here goes:

From Karl Rove in the Wall Street Journal

“In a wide-ranging interview, Kamala Harris was more fluid and articulate than her boss.  That’s something of a problem itself.   But she also showed that besides stock phrases and baseless assertions, there isn’t all that much to the Biden record that will endear it to Americans desperate for a better future.

“Voters are uneasy, angry, and deeply dissatisfied with the Administration’s performance.  Nothing Harris does will change that.  Less than a year from the election, the Biden-Harris team still hasn’t found a way to make its case.”

From Jennifer Rubin in the Washington Post

“…In other words, the mainstream media would have to focus (not just for a single story but extended over weeks) on the consequences of electing a candidate echoing Adolf Hitler and vowing to use the military and Justice Department against his enemies.  They would have to look not at polling about the economy, but the actual economic record of the Administration, including inflation flattened, more than 14 million jobs created, and record low unemployment for Black people, Hispanics and women.”

So, two views.

Which do I accept?

Well, I might not write the way either Rove or Rubin do, but I will vote for Biden because a vote for Trump is a vote for a dictator who will use the powers of presidency for his own goals, not the country’s goals.