Perspective from the 19th 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 wrote a few days ago to question whether the “checks and balances” system in American democracy still would work as a felon, Donald Trump, moves into the Oval Office for the second time.
My summary: I did not know whether the U.S. Congress and the U.S. Supreme Court would find a way to stand up to Trump.
Well, my analysis was incomplete.
I say that after reading humorist Dave Barry’s annual column in the Washington Post as he dissects 2024. It is always a great read.
This time, Barry wrote briefly about checks and balances:
“… Joe Biden, who repeatedly promised that he would not pardon his son Hunter, cements his legacy as the most Joe Biden president ever by pardoning his son Hunter, thus forcing the Democrat Party to change its mantra from ‘Nobody is above the law!’ to ‘Hey, it’s complicated.’
“The wording of the pardon document is quite broad, covering ‘all offenses committed between 2014 and 2024, including any currently unsolved bank robberies, not that we are suggesting anything.
“The pardon outrages many Republicans who would be fine with it if Trump did it, while it’s fine with many Democrats who would be outraged if Trump did it.
“For, that is how our system of checks and balances works.”
Good point, Mr. Barry.
And, as 2024 moves into the rearview mirror, if you want to spend a bit of time guffawing, just read all the piece Barry wrote in the Post.
And note the “checks and balances” sentence.
Perspective from the 19th Hole 