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.

As a golf fan, this is one of my favorite weeks of the year.  I get to watch the Masters Golf Tournament, as it is called, “A Tradition Unlike Any Other.”

As I get ready for the first round today, I have reflected on words and rules at the Masters, some of which relate to my first and only visit to the tournament in 2015.

Here is a quick summary:

• Persons who attend the Masters are not called “spectators.”  They are called “patrons.”  If a TV announcer makes a mistake and uses the word spectator, either he or she corrects the error immediately or they might be barred from future coverage.

• When you enter Masters grounds for the tournament, you are not allowed to run.  If you do, you might get kicked out, for there are staff people everywhere.

• And, if you choose to watch parts of the tournament sitting on the ground somewhere, fine.  But just don’t lie down.  If you do, you’ll be asked to sit up.

• Also, if you have a golf hat on, don’t wear it backwards.  If you do, you’ll be asked immediately to turn it around.

I said earlier that there are staff people all around the site.  That’s something I noticed clearly back in 2015.

I also noticed a job I would not want to have.  Forgive this clarity, but it was a staff in the men’s restroom who, as you entered the “building” (yes, all such facilities at the Masters are in buildings, not tents), took a moment to tell you where to go next. 

Tough job.  And it lasted all day, each day.

Finally, in this blog, I list my five favorites for the Masters’ winner this time around:  Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Jordan Speith, Justin Thomas, and Ludwig Aberg.

So, for the next four days, if you bother me, you’ll be competing with the Masters.  So be it.

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.

To verify that I have too much time on my hands in retirement, even if I play golf most days, consider the following examples.

COUNTING GOLF PLAYER LOOK-UPS:  I often count the number of times pro golfers look up before they hit to verify the direction in which they intend to hit the ball. 

• For Brian Harman, who won the Valero Texas Open last week, he gets twitchy over his golf ball, looking up quickly at least six times before he swings.  Yes, I counted the look-ups!  Six!

• Or consider Patrick Cantlay.  As he stands over a putt, he also gets twitchy, shifting his feet multiple times.  Yes, I counted the twitches!

• And, it always is tough to watch Ryder Cup Captain Keegan Bradley who seemingly can’t control all kinds of moments before he finally hits his golf ball.  Yes, I counted the times he twirls the club in his hands before he hits.

Yes, see, too much time on my hands, though each of the above qualify as examples of why pro golf leaders should start penalizing players for slow play.

They also call to mind the time in the past that many of counted the times Sergio Garcia twitched before the hit the ball.  The number for to more than 20!

AS FOR BASKETBALL:  I have spent a bit of time watching college basketball for a few days as teams grappled during the final four in March Madness.

The title eventually went to Florida, but, with too much time on my hands, I noticed this:

• When players are guarding an opponent, referees consistently let them “hand guard.”  What I mean is that players with the ball are pushed away from the basket by hand.  Back when I played, albeit, not in a “final four,” hand-guarding used to be a foul.

• Or, remember what used to be called “palming the ball?”  That means that, when dribbling, a player had to keep his hand on top of the ball, not on the side – thus the term “palming.”  Now, players  with the ball often take four or five steps as they “palm” the ball.  And that used to be called; not now.

Enough for this morning, but two things are true:  (1) I have illustrated that I have too much time on my hands, and (2) I am old and wish for the better past days – for golf and for basketball.

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.

Guess what?

This is Masters Golf Tournament week, one of my favorite weeks all year long.

See, I love the Masters and it is a joy – yes, a joy! – to watch it on TV every year.  Also, in 2015, I had the privilege of attending the event with my daughter who also loves the Masters.  We made memories for a lifetime!

Most years, my daughter and I sit in our Masters’ chairs in the two locations where we live – Woodinville, Washington for her and Salem, Oregon for me – even as we share texts during the tournament to compare notes on how the tournament is going.

So, given my joy this week, no better use for my blog today than to reprint a story by Gary Van Sickle that ran in one of my on-line golf publications and appeared under the headline I used for this blog.  It recounted the history of the Masters lead TV commentator, Jim Nantz. 

The story also included this intro:

“The 2025 Masters will be the CBS Sports announcer’s 40th.  He’s been a conduit to several generations’ memories of the major, and that’s worth celebrating — even if he would prefer we not do so.”

So, here is Van Sickle’s story.

*********

Jim Nantz may be slightly annoyed by this story, although he seems like such a force for good in the world that it is impossible to imagine him being annoyed.

So maybe he’ll just be disappointed by this story. Because it is about him.

Nantz will be working his 40th Masters Tournament next week for CBS Sports. He’s still a couple of Masters behind me but that hardly matters. By joining the 40 Masters Club, Nantz just made that an even bigger honor for those of us already in it.

The Masters is “a tradition unlike any other.” Nantz coined that phrase. Augusta National Golf Club trademarked it. Nantz is also a tradition unlike any other. He is The Voice of Golf for us, just as he was The Voice of NCAA Basketball until last year and just as he is still The Voice of NFL Football.

He is more than that. He is the soundtrack of our lives. Nantz has been omnipresent delivering sports commentary for multiple generations. Time marches on, but we remember the voices that come and go just as we do. Mel Allen. Jack Buck. Dizzy Dean and Pee Wee Reese. Bob Costas. Vin Scully. Bob Uecker. Chris Schenkel and Byron Nelson. Pat Summerall and Ken Venturi. Jim McKay.

When CBS president David Berson kicked off a network media conference call the other day by mentioning Nantz’s 40th Masters, it was a reminder to pinch myself about being lucky enough to live in this era of golf that stretched from Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus to Tiger Woods and beyond. Nantz has been there for all of it, a reassuring voice, measured when needed, bursting with energy when called for. His serene tone is as sympathetic as a psychiatrist and as knowledgeable as a NASA technician.

He is also real. If you think he seems syrupy at times, well, that’s Nantz being Nantz. When he utters his familiar opening line, “Hello, friends,” he actually means it. Jim Nantz is the walking definition of sincerity.

“He lives and breathes the sport,” Berson said. He mentioned that Nantz’s first Masters was the 1986 epic won by Jack Nicklaus. “Some way to start,” Berson added with a chuckle.

A recent report said Nantz plans to retire after the 2036 Masters. Nantz doesn’t want to be the story at any Masters. The tournament is always the story, he insists, but he did want to offer a correction. Someone on the internet took an old comment in which he said he wanted to be at Augusta in 2036 for the 100th Masters. That’s all. The quote was revived and twisted, the usual internet way to draw views.

“I’ve always said it with a wink in my eye and a little whimsy that if all things worked out, I would like to be there in 2036,” Nantz says. “I never wanted any attention on me and my longevity at Augusta. It is an honor beyond words. We’ll see what the good Lord has as far as plans for me.

“Maybe it’s 2036, maybe it’s beyond, maybe it’s earlier than that. I don’t’ know. I’m locked in on one thing — this edition of the Masters. I love being in the moment. It’s the greatest feeling in this business, being there and sharing it with this team and preparing every day for these shows. Every single shot that is on the air is a reflection of guys like (producer) Sellers Shy and (director) Steve Milton. It is the ultimate report card on all of us as professionals, just like every shot you strike as a player at Augusta, you want it to be your best. It’s a part of your record. I love the fact that’s the way we approach this tournament. This is our attempt to be at our very best.”

That kind of earnestness is to be admired. The point about this being Nantz’s 40th Masters is that you should enjoy him while you can. He’ll turn 66 in May. Like Scully and Uecker and the rest, he is a national treasure. Not that he’d ever claim that. After Berson mentioned his 40th, Nantz immediately tried to turn the spotlight elsewhere.

“It’s such an honor to be at that number (40) alongside the great Verne Lundquist, so we’re the first two to ever reach 40, and it’s beyond my wildest dreams in a lot of ways,” Nantz said. “What made me fall in love with the Masters was watching and listening. I was smitten by what I saw and riveted by what I heard. I was completely enraptured and ever since I was 11 years old, I wanted to be one of those voices. Sounds like good copy. It’s true. It’s heartfelt. I call every Masters with an outpouring of gratefulness that I’m able to live a boyhood dream.”

His Masters story began at the 1986 Masters. Nantz was already doing NCAA basketball but, he recalled, “I could not believe I was entrusted to be a part of Frank Chirkinian’s golf team.” Chirkinian was the long-time director who perfected the modern golf telecast and hired the likes of Ben Wright, Gary McCord and Peter Kostis. Nantz arrived in Augusta in early March to film some Masters promotional commercials that would run during the NCAA tournament.

“Frank had this theory that no one knew who I was, which was accurate, and he wanted me facing the camera shooting these promos so when I showed up to this Masters, I wasn’t some stranger,” Nantz says. “We shot the promos, I stood in front of the 16th green for most of them and Frank said, ‘Son, I brought you here to 16 because that’s going to be your hole.’

“I couldn’t believe it. To be there for the 70th hole of the Masters on Sunday, that was a very weighty assignment. I tried to act appreciative but unfazed, that the moment was not too big for me. Inside, I wanted to say, ‘Mr. Chirkinian, I was just in the college dorm not even four years ago. Are you sure?’ I was scared out of my wits.

“When that tournament ended and Jack [Nicklaus] made, of course, a pivotal birdie at 16 on Sunday, I went back to the CBS compound and we were all euphoric. We had just documented arguably the greatest golf tournament of all time, April 13, 1986. I’m 6-feet-3, Frank was probably, 5-5 or 5-6, he gave me hug. I leaned down, and he whispered in my ear, ‘You’ve done well, son. You’ll be coming back here for a long time.’

“I was just so grateful that I had not screwed it up, that I was going to get to see it for a second time. So I never lose that thought, that feeling, the gratitude of having another one. That’s why we take them one at a time and we put everything we have, everything we’re trained to do into one show without looking down the road. This is a gift, after all. It’s a gift for all of us.”

Whatever it is about the Masters that makes it different from other tournaments and the other major championships, Nantz is a true believer. He is part of why the Masters does feel different. There are no discussions of FedEx Cup points or exemptions or how much a specific putt at the end might be worth in prize money. That’s just not done in Augusta, not on Nantz’s watch, and that’s just how Tournament Chairman Fred Ridley and the Augusta National members want it. The Masters is all about winning the green jacket.

“When you have the Masters, there’s never a discussion about money, it’s about a jacket. It’s about a coat that you win,” Nantz says. “Tell me something else that compares to that. In a world filled with NIL and guaranteed contracts — playing for a green jacket. Yes, there’s money involved. I couldn’t even tell you what first place pays and I don’t care. Nor do the players. You know what it is? It’s immortality in golf. You achieve it, man, you have found a place in history. It’s permanence. It’s forever.

“It has truly been the greatest joy of my career to have been at Augusta all these years. I can’t wait to share that moment. Just being on this conference call today, I feel like the Masters is actually starting right here, right now. I’m super stoked.”

Nantz is a team player, something that isn’t always common in the cutthroat business of television. He looks out for his broadcast partners, his crew, his network. At the 1996 PGA Championship at Valhalla in Louisville, Kentucky, Kenny Perry lost a playoff to Mark Brooks. Perry finished his round early, then spent the next 30 minutes in the booth with Nantz and Ken Venturi. After Brooks rolled in the tying putt on the final green, Perry left the CBS tower and went right to the playoff without hitting a single warmup shot or practice putt. There was criticism that CBS kept Perry in the booth too long.

After Brooks won the playoff, I hustled to the CBS compound just in time to flag down Nantz and Venturi as they began to pull away in a limo. Informed about the potential controversy regarding CBS’ role, Nantz and Venturi recounted how they repeatedly asked Perry if he wanted to leave to get ready for the playoff. Venturi said he strongly suggested it. But Perry preferred to stay and wanted to see Brooks finish. Perry’s drive on the first playoff hole found the rough, he butchered the hole and lost. Nantz thanked me effusively and enthusiastically for coming to them to get the facts. He was relieved that Venturi, his beloved friend, and CBS would not be unfairly blamed.

Nantz is a believer in friendships, loyalty, traditions. One at Augusta is in saying farewell to past champions who are retiring. This year, it’s 67-year-old Bernhard Langer, a two-time winner. “Bernard’s goodbye is a big one,” says Nantz, who put together a tribute to Langer that will air in the hour preceding CBS’ Sunday coverage.

Arnold Palmer’s farewell Masters was another big one. Nantz felt it was important to do something special as Palmer played the final hole.

“We made the determination that we were going to let people feel like they were walking from Arnie from the time he teed off until the time he putted out,” Nantz says. “There was not one word uttered, not one. I was with Ken Venturi in the tower at 18 and it took a long time because what we didn’t know was that Arnie was going to be shaking hands as he walked up the 18th. He would go over to the ropes where there were friends waiting to greet him. It became just a long celebration.”

Palmer was brought to the Butler Cabin for an interview and Nantz had heard from former President George H. W. Bush, a close friend, that he wanted to wish Palmer good luck. After the interview, Nantz dialed Bush’s number and handed the phone to Palmer. “Arnie played with 10 Presidents in his lifetime, he was tied to all of them, red and blue,” Nantz says. “After he hung up the phone, he couldn’t even get words out. That was the first time I really saw him crack. It was a magical day at Augusta.”

Nantz has seen a lot of magical days during his CBS run. He stood right behind Gene Sarazen as an honorary starter at 97 and watched him hit a nice, but short, drive. Sarazen died less than two months later. Another time, Nantz was meditating early in the week by the 12th green when he saw an older couple walking along the 11th fairway. It was Byron Nelson, using a cane, and his wife, Peggy. Nantz picked them up in his golf cart and gave them a ride to the bridge over Rae’s Creek that is named in Nelson’s honor. With his wife’s help, Nelson reached out to touch the memorial plaque there. Nelson died later that year in 2006. Thanks to Nantz, Byron crossed the Nelson Bridge one last time.

The pervasive reverence that goes with those occasions is what sets the Masters apart. It is why Nantz annually visits Amen Corner sometime Wednesday afternoon while the par-3 contest is in progress. He goes there to say a prayer, give thanks and reflect. He is also usually seen doing something similar Monday morning after the tournament is over.

When Hideki Matsuyama won the Masters, his caddie went out on the 18th green, pulled the flagstick out, removed his cap and carefully, reverentially bowed. That is how Nantz feels about the Masters, that’s how he treats the occasion.

It isn’t about Amen Corner, it’s about simply saying, “Amen.”

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.

Those who know me know that I like words and try my best to use them correctly, not always perfectly though that is my goal.

So, two stories in national publications caught my attention in the last couple days.

• An essayist for the Wall Street Journal, Joseph Epstein, showed up recently with a story about hackneyed words that have outlived their usefulness.
• A Columbia University linguist, John McWhorter, according to the Washington Post, published a witty book entitled, “Pronoun Trouble: The Story of Us in Seven Little Words.”

It was good for me to read both stories because they called to mind two issues for me – words I often use that have become hackneyed and the trouble with knowing what pronouns to use these days.

Here is the introduction to what Epstein wrote under this headline:  “The Incredibly Massive Number of Hackneyed Words Is Surreal; Overused, meaningless phrases fall out of fashion:

“A hackneyed phrase is one characterized by its unoriginality, overuse and, not least, imprecision.  The air seems filled with such phrases just now.

“Consider how the often-used word ‘focused’ has taken on the adjective ‘laser,’ to become the fully hackneyed ‘laser-focused.’  Not all hackneyed language comes in full phrases; some single words also qualify. How they catch on remains a bit of a mystery but catch on they do.  ‘Incredible,’ you might say.

“You might say it, that is, if you have no ear for language and don’t mind sounding like everyone else who currently avails himself of this hackneyed word.  Incredible, a synonym for unbelievable or surpassing belief, has become the hackneyed word of the day.  The word has a hackneyed history.”

For me, there also are words I use too often.  And my wife often points them out.  Good for her.  Bad for me.

I won’t bore you here with my hackneyed words and phrases because, you see, I would have to use them again to outline them.  Not worth it, but, upon reflection, here are two:

• “In the category of more than you may want to know…”
• And, when I play golf and someone asks me how I am, I often answer, “I am on the right side of the turf.”

As for the book on pronouns, here is how the Washington Post characterized it:

“Back when McWhorter started his book, the subject must have sounded a bit abstruse, but in a weird coincidence with reactionary politics, pronouns now feel hotter than climate change.  After Trump’s executive order ‘Restoring Biological Truth,’ government employees were ordered to scrub pronouns from their email signatures.  Suddenly, ‘they’ could get you fired.

“’To mess with our pronouns,’ McWhorter writes, ‘is to mess with our sense of the order of things, what’s up and what’s down — life itself.’  We’re naturally possessive about our pronouns. But he acknowledges early on, ‘My positions on these matters do not stem from any ‘conservatism’ with which I am sometimes associated.’  Indeed, he’s a descriptive linguist, a scholar interested in observing the evolution of language, not railing against its perceived misuses.”

For me on this issue, I have continued to encounter it over the years I was in government and as lobbyist, and even now as volunteer.  Especially in the case of women.

Do they want to be called “she, her, or they” – though the latter sounds bad to me, if not, at least, awkward.  On this, I’ll just continue to muddle through and use the pronoun for a woman that woman wants me to use – if, of course, they tell.  I also don’t want to make a mistake that comes back to bite me.

So, there you have it – two issues about words. 

To write about this, I could have opened one of five departments I run as director, the Department of Words Matter.  But I chose simply to write about the words, not open the department because I, like Elon Musk, am cutting my form of government.

Happy reading and make your own decisions about overused words and the proper use of pronouns.

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.

If I were a Democrat, I’d be looking for ways to oppose Donald Trump and his ilk by trying to build relationships with all those – especially all Democrats, as well as some Republicans – who cannot stomach Trump.

The notion above is stupid because I am a registered Independent who wants this country, in politics, to get back to something other than Trump hucksterism.

Hill.com reports that Democrats may have found one way to get off the ground.  It is to capitalize on what has come to be called “Signal-Gate,” the process by which Trump’s so-called national security experts discussed war plans over an insecure group chat line. 

And, not only that – they unwittingly invited a journalist, Atlantic Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg, to participate on the call.

[By the way, I have called this “Chat-Gate” in previous blogs, not “Signal-Gate,” but know this – either works, using the Watergate moniker, to call attention to something hugely stupid, if not criminal.]

It also is possible that today, given what Trump did to impose huge tariffs that are roiling all world economies, the Ds will have a new edge.  As tariffs increase prices and slam the stock market, give Trump all the credit – read, debit – he deserves.

Here is how hill.com started its story mentioned above:

“Democrats and their embattled Senate Leader Chuck Schumer have received a welcome change to rebound amid the controversy surrounding the Signal group chat that entangled a number of Trump Cabinet members over the past week.

“Signal-Gate, in which a journalist was inadvertently included in a Trump administration group chat that included sensitive information about a military strike against the Houthis in Yemen, effectively served as a reprieve for Schumer.

“Instead of being besieged by questions about Democrat divisions — and Schumer’s vote to advance a GOP funding bill — the week was dominated by queries of how The Atlantic’s editor in chief ended up getting invited by Trump’s national security adviser to a group chat that included Vice President Vance and other top officials.

“GOP senators were the ones fending off questions over why the Trump team, including officials traveling overseas, were discussing sensitive information on Signal, while Democrats were the ones going on offense.”

So, back to my question – what should Democrats do now to capitalize on their “good fortune,” if it could be called that?

Three thoughts.

• First, don’t let Signal-Gate or Chat-Gate die a merciful death.  Continue trying to hold Trump and Republicans responsible for this national security debacle, given the huge importance of this step that risked American military lives, as well as the U.S. standing in the world.  And, continue to do this as new evidence emerges that those who participated in Chat-Gate are also using routine e-mail structures to share information that should be kept secret.
• Second, find a way to be FOR something, not just AGAINST something.  [This was advice I gave to my lobby clients who often didn’t like proposals at the Capitol in Salem, Oregon, but I suggested that opposition wasn’t enough.  Advocacy in favor of proposals also was critical.]
• Third, don’t protest Trump, for all that does in infuse him with more instinct to go even farther.

Just wait him out.

It’s difficult to know how to engage in political discourse in regard to Trump.  He doesn’t play in the normal way, contending only for his point-of-view and never being willing to negotiate for smart solutions.

With him, it’s always his way or the highway.  And, if persons are hurt because of his actions, he doesn’t want to know, and he doesn’t care.  He always blames others.

So, at base, again I say wait him out in the hope – a realistic one, I think – that all the ways Trump and his ilk are setting out to hurt people will come home to roost, making him what he is, a pariah.

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.

Anyone who knows me knows that I oppose the idiotic idea that Donald Trump could run for a third term.

Of course, after zero analysis, he has suggested he has “methods” for seeking a third term.

Constitutional law scholars are at least skeptical, if not opposed.  The headline on this blog makes that point strongly.

The Washington Post performed a service by writing a detailed story on the idea of a third term because Trump, with bombast and dishonesty, has started talking about it.

And, goodness knows, he is not more than a few months into his second term, which, under U.S. Constitution, should be his last.

Here is how the Post started its story:

“… Trump has suggested that ‘methods’ exist by which he could attempt to serve a third term in the White House, an act that is barred by the 22nd Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

“’I’m not joking,’ Trump said, in a Sunday interview with NBC News, when asked to clarify speculative comments on the possibility.

“Constitutional scholars say any third run for the presidency would violate both the spirit and the letter of the amendment, which was passed after World War II as a protection against ‘elective monarchy.’”

The 22nd Amendment explicitly prohibits any president from seeking more than two terms, either in consecutive or non-consecutive sequence.  It states:  “No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice.”

The amendment was passed by Congress in 1947 and became part of the Constitution in 1951, when it was fully ratified by the states.

So, what could Trump do to stay in office?

• First, as was the case as his first term ended, he could just stay in office, even to the extent of fomenting a riot at the Capitol as he did last time.  Could something be done to oppose this?  Perhaps, but look at last time and hold your breath.
• Second, he and his acolytes could contend that the 22^nd Amendment bars three “consecutive” terms and his first and second were separated by four years out of office.  Scholars say this won’t fly, but what scholars say won’t stop Trump.
• Third, some of his supporters have suggested that someone like J.D. Vance could run for president with Trump in the vice president slot and then, if he won, Vance would resign, leaving Trump as president.  Scholars also say this won’t fly.
• Fourth, the most direct route for Trump would involve repealing the 22^nd amendment.  But the Washington Post says it would be a “painstaking and likely lengthy process that would require the passage of another amendment.  Proposed amendments must be passed by two-thirds of both houses of Congress, then ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the states.”  Not likely.

From the Post, back to what Trump has said about three terms and reasons why he has said it.

“He has repeatedly floated the possibility that he could run for a third term — although previously couched it in more indirect terms.  In 2019, he suggested in a social media post that his supporters might ‘demand’ it.  In February, he again raised the prospect by asking the attendees of a White House reception whether they would support him running for a third term.

“Over the weekend, Trump made among his most direct public comments to date about the prospect — directly referencing the question of how he could seek a third term and insisting he was not joking.

“In a phone interview with NBC News’s Kristen Welker, he suggested that there were plans in circulation to enable him to run for a third term.  ‘A lot of people want me to do it,’ he said.”

Well, don’t count me as one of those “a lot of people.”

One reason why Trump raised this again over the last few days is that his action diverts from the adverse effects of his economic policies – especially huge tariffs – that threaten various economies, especially the one in the U.S.

Again, Trump says whatever happens to pop into his mind and, thereby, controls media coverage.

Late night TV hosts had a field day with the three-term issue.

One comment came from Jimmy Fallon:  “And, finally, Trump ’28:  If You Vote for Me, I’ll Add You to the Top-Secret Group Chat.”