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 dedicated golfer, I like a story about golf as much as other followers of my favorite sport.

But, this week, Donald Trump used a stupid analogy to justify his idea to accept a huge gift from a corrupt Saudi government.

It was a 747 airplane worth north of $400 million that Trump wanted to use as Air Force One.

As for the analogy?  Trump compared taking the plane to taking a “gimme” in golf.

Yes, a gimme!

What is that anyway?

From the dictionary:  A short putt that a player is given, without putting, in informal play.

From me:  The word refers to the time when gentleman golfers “give” a short putt to an opponent as an act of generosity.  Just know that a gimme is not allowed under official golf rules in stroke play, so don’t expect or take a gimme in an official tournament.

In a gentlemanly game on a weekend, yes.

Note that, in the above, I choose to use the word “gentleman” because most women who play at my home club, Illahe Hills Golf and Country Club in Salem, Oregon, eschew gimmes; they say putt everthing in, which, of course, directly complies with golf rules.

Regarding Trump, he invoked the golfing great Sam Snead to justify a plan to accept the $400 million plane from Qatar to use as Air Force One.

Here is how national newspapers described the situation:

“This is the parable of the president and the putt.

“It was Monday morning in Washington and Trump was in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, signing one more executive order before departing for his expedition to the Middle East.  Over the weekend, news had broken about his plan to accept a $400 million plane from Qatar to use as Air Force One.  Questions abounded.

“This luxurious gift from the Qataris presented all sorts of concerns — ethical, legal, logistical, mechanical.  There was also the fact that Trump had once described Qatar as a ‘funder of terrorism at a very high level.’

Even some of Trump strongest supporters were concerned.  But, of course, Trump was having none of it.

“They’re giving us a free jet,” he said.  “I could say, ‘No, no, no, don’t give it us, I want to pay you a billion, or $400 million,’ or whatever it is.  Or, I could say, ‘Thank you very much.’”

“He paused.  Something had occurred to him.  The idea ofthe plane reminded him of something he had heard once and never forgotten.  It was just a little thing, really, and he said it almost as an aside.

“But it told so much about Trump and the way he sees the world.

“’There was an old golfer named Sam Snead,’ he said. ‘Did you ever hear of him?’

“Old Sam Snead ‘had a motto,’ Trump continued.  “When they give you a putt, you say, ‘Thank you very much.’  You pick up your ball, and you walk to the next hole.  A lot of people are stupid.  They say, ‘No, no, I insist on putting it.’  Then they putt it, they miss it, and their partner gets angry at them.”

Even for Trump, the analogy was a stretch as he compared a gimme in golf to accepting a luxury jet from a foreign government that no doubt wants many “somethings” from the United States.

Still, as simplistic as the analogy was, it was a revealing insight into how Trump views, not only the plane, but all the other ethical concerns swirling around him.

He doesn’t even know what the phrase “ethical conduct” means.  So, he doesn’t recognize one when one exists.

One of my good friends couldn’t believe that Trump would compare being given a huge jet to a gimme.

Neither can I.

Stupid?  Yes!