Perspective from the 19^th Hole 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.

I borrowed this blog headline from a column by Dana Milbank who writes for the Washington Post.

During the recent presidential campaign, Milbank warned against the excesses of one Donald Trump.  Now we are seeing those excesses.

It’s why many of us, with Milbank, “gape.”

It’s as if Trump tries to think of something hugely outlandish, then does it.  Then, his MAGA – Make America Great Again group, which is a stupid turn of phrase – falls in line, no matter the consequences.

With Milbank, just consider for a moment some of the prospective appointments Trump has made over the last few days”

• Matt Gaetz for Attorney General:  Say what?  A now-former U.S. representative, Gaetz, has been under fire almost all the time for terrible conduct, including an investigation for alleged sexual activity with under-age girls.  His method of operation is to be controversial and to hope it works for him, which it has to this point.

Many commentators are saying that, given all his fights with senators on both sides of aisle, plus an almost total lack of experience in legal law, Gaetz may have trouble being confirmed.

It appears he doesn’t care because his first act upon being announced by Trump was to resign his seat in the House.  Perhaps, for the good of all, he’ll walk off into the sunset.

• Tulsi Gabbard for director of National Intelligence:  She has no experience running a major agency and has been quoted providing a number of off-kilter descriptions of U.S intelligence operations.  For example, her parroting of Russian propaganda was so reckless that Senator Mitt Romney called it “treasonous.”

• Pete Hegseth for director of the Defense Department:   A former congressman, he was a Fox News weekend co-host and also lobbied Trump to pardon military service members accused of war crimes.  He has no managerial experience and just five days ago said “we should not have women in combat roles” because men are “more capable.”

Late news on Hegseth is that, a few years ago, he was investigated for sexual assault, though no charges were filed.  Still, there was a report in the Washington Post that the Trump clan was reconsidering the Hegseth nomination, which would be ironic given that Trump himself has been found guilty of sexual assault.

If Gaetz, Gabbard and Hegseth weren’t enough, Trump went on to say he would appoint Robert F. Kennedy Jr., to be secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).  Kennedy has claimed anti-depressants cause school shootings, chemicals cause people to become transgender, and vaccines cause autism. Who knows what Kennedy will do when he takes the helm at HHS.

The Washington Post puts it this way:

“Trump’s decision to tap Gaetz for attorney general, Gabbard for intelligence and Hegseth for defense (and Kennedy for HHS) will test the Republican-led Senate’s fealty to the president-elect. 

“…Trump’s decision to choose Gabbard, Gaetz and Hegseth (and later Kennedy) stunned senators and some of his own advisers, setting up multiple uphill confirmation battles that will test the incoming president’s political clout in the Senate, where his party is expected to hold 53 seats.”

So, here we go with the Trump administration in waiting.  And, when I use the word “administration” to apply to a president, I always put the “a” in capital letters, such as the “Biden Administration.”

With Trump, I decline to do so because what he is doing is not administration.  It is flying by the seat of his pants – or, perhaps more accurately, acting like what he really wants to be, which is a reality TV studio host.

The gravity of Trump’s nominations illustrate why wants the Senate to enable “recess appointments.”  That’s a way to subvert the normal Senate confirmation process.

Here is how the confirmation process works if it is honored.  The Constitution restrains the president’s appointments by giving the Senate the power to confirm, or not, his nominees.  Alexander Hamilton in Federalist No. 76 wrote that this provides “an excellent check upon a spirit of favoritism in the president, and would tend greatly to prevent the appointment of unfit characters.”

If Gaetz is nominated (as Trump promises), Republican senators could follow through on threats to vote no.  Thus, Trump’s interest in bypassing them through “recess appointments.”

In conclusion, leave it to columnist Milbank to find a silver lining in the current black clouds:

“There is some good news in the way Trump has produced mayhem and confusion right from the start.  One of the greatest concerns about Trump’s second term was that he would be more competent this time around.  But we can already see that there is no learning curve for Trump.  His administration is going to be just as incompetent as it was last time — maybe more so.”

And, I add that I hope incompetence comes home to roost for Trump.