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.

This is one of four departments I run with a free hand to manage as I – and only I – see fit.

The others are the Department of Pet Peeves, the Department of Inquiring Minds Want to Know, and the Department of “Just Saying.”

So, here more good quotes – and I start with a special one.

SAM SKILLERN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, SALEM LEADERSHIP FOUNDATION:  “Two thousand years ago, things were pretty rough in the Middle East.  The Roman Empire was in charge, and it was brutal.  Even though the Romans allowed the Jewish culture and systems to remain in place, they ruled with the proverbial iron fist.  Royalty and religious leaders had to kowtow. 

“Merchants endured a harsh economy.  Families worked hard to eke out an existence.  The average man was nothing but a peon; women and slaves were nothing.  Unspeakable cruelty, including crucifixion, was the norm.
 
“There was sharp political and theological divide, with an underground revolt smoldering.  Cultural and ethnic tensions due to nationality, class, and religion.  Concerns about immigration and refugees.  Hope for something … or someone … to break into the chaos and bring peace.
 
“You know the story.  It wasn’t the conquering adult warrior many expected.  It was a baby, entering into our human existence to walk with us and show us the way.  It was a miraculous breakthrough that changed world history forever, something that has been widely documented even outside Christian literature.
 
“As we consider the times we’re in … are we open to a breakthrough?  At this time of year, do we only look back and remember one momentous occasion?  Or, in our hearts, do we invite and await a profound 2023 breakthrough?  Emmanuel, God with us.  An epiphany, manifestation of Christ.  These concepts are not new; they have been in play since the manger.  But do we perceive them?  Especially in times like these?

COMMENT:  As usual, Skillern asks probing questions as he has done for years at the helm of the Leadership Foundation, which works hard and effectively to bring various interests to solve community problems.

At this time of year, Christmas, Skillern points us to the real reason for the season – Christ’s birth and what that means for us if we accept His free gift.

FROM WASHINGTON POST EDITORIAL WRITERS:  Under this headline —  “The Supreme Court should not allow Trump to play the justice system” – the writers said this: 

“The essential moment in Jack Smith’s 2020 election obstruction case against Donald Trump might have arrived — and, oddly, the substance of the charges has nothing to do with it.

“The special counsel this week filed a motion asking the Supreme Court to speedily review the former president’s claims that he is immune from prosecution, rather than allow an appeals court to do so first.  The strategy is gutsy, but it might be necessary to get the case to trial before the general election — and that is a wholly legitimate goal for Trump’s prosecutor.

“By ignoringthat timing in a case with the peaceful transition of power at its heart, the courts would allow themselves to be manipulated by a politician using his status as a candidate to avoid accountability.”

COMMENT:  That’s the Trump strategy – delay, forever.  And, then if, perish the thought, he becomes president again, he’ll simply pardon himself by instructing the Justice Department to stop.

FROM ATLANTIC MAGAZINE STAFF WRITER TOM NICHOLS:  “The public’s cultish fascination with celebrity is not a new problem, but it’s getting worse.  Back in 1992, I was a young professor living in New Hampshire.  I was teaching political science back in those days, but I had several years of practical experience from working in city, state, and federal politics.

“Nonetheless, I was unprepared for the madness that settles over the Granite State during the presidential primaries.  I went to several events, and I started to worry about how dysfunctionally Americans regard the office of the chief executive.

“As various contenders — including the right-wing populist Pat Buchanan — made their way through the state, I got to hear voters directly addressing the candidates.  As far as I could tell, they had one overriding message for the people contending to be the Leader of the Free World at a time of tremendous global instability, and it sounded something like this:

“I am an unemployed pipe fitter from Laconia, and I would like to know when you’re going to get me a job.

“Trump has played to both sides of the Superman/daddy concept, encouraging a cult of personality that endows one man with saintly powers—a man who never has to deliver, and who can never fail but can only be failed by others.”

COMMENT:  Nichols, a solid writer, makes a prescient case that Americans often place too much faith in the Office of the President.  He or she is not superman.

Trump, however, supports the superman myth because to him – he is the smartest person on the planet – he is always right.  And, no matter what he does as president, if he gets the office again, it will be for his own good.

FROM THE WALL STREET JOURNAL:  “Technology giants strengthened their grip on the top of the annual Management Top 250 ranking of America’s best-run companies.”  For the fourth year running, Miscrosoft was at the top of the list.

“Others in the top five were Apple, Nvidia, Alphabet, and IBM in the ranking compiled by researchers at the Drucker Institute, part of Claremont Graduate University. 

“The top five companies scored well across a wide range of measurements, from job satisfaction to supply-chain management to shareholder returns — strengths reflected in their standing in the ranking’s five main components.

COMMENT:  It’s good to be recognized for overall management strengths.  And, from a position far from the action, I think Microsoft deserves the plaudits.