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 I write this, I acknowledge again that I don’t know enough about the war in Iran.

Well, apparently, neither does Donald Trump.

Thus, the “head of a pin analogy.”  What I know for sure about this war could be written on the head of a pin.  Trump also needs that pin. 

He started this war without congressional authorization or any nod to the idea that any president needs to make a case for war to all Americans, because, of course, many of them will pay a price for war, not to mention those who will lose their lives fighting Trump’s battle.

Trump is out of the control because he thinks he is a god, or at least close to one.  And he always – always – knows best, because he is the epitome of a narcissist.

For the following list of Trump foibles, I am indebted to Atlantic Magazine, which, a couple days ago, wrote a story providing details about how little Trump knows about HIS war, or about how his comments go first in one direction, then, later, in another direction.

Written by David Graham, here is how the story started:

“The Trump administration can’t say why the United States went to war with Iran, and it can’t say what the goal of the war is.  Now it can’t even decide whether the war is still going on.

“During an interview with CBS News, Trump all but declared victory.  ‘I think the war is very complete, pretty much.’

“This statement is so self-contradictory and confusing that one might be tempted to write it off as just riffing, except that he reiterated it at a press conference later.  ‘We’re achieving major strides toward completing our military objective, and some people could say they’re pretty well complete,’ he said, apparently referring to himself. “

The following are foreboding contrasts pointed out by Atlantic:

• …the same afternoon, the Department of Defense posted on X, ‘We have only just begun to fight,’ mangling a famous quotation from John Paul Jones, the father of the U.S. Navy.  Reporters at the press conference, perplexed, asked Trump about the gap.  ‘You said the war is very complete, but your defense secretary says this is just the beginning, so which is it?’

“Well, I think you could say both,” Trump replied.

• You could — if you were a pundit making an argument about the future of the war.  But people might hope for a bit more clarity from the man who launched the war without congressional authorization, popular support, or even much buy-in from his own advisers.
• Trump’s equivocation yesterday may be his attempt to steady an economy shaken by the war.  The president’s approval has been battered recently by the high cost of living.  Although inflation was a major factor in his victory over Kamala Harris in 2024, Trump has seldom focused on it since entering office and has insisted that affordability is somehow both a Democrat hoax and a problem that he has already solved.
• The war in Iran has exacerbated existing stressors:  It has driven up gas prices, rocked stock markets, and suggested that Trump’s attention is not on the economy.  The president appears rattled by this and even called on oil-tanker captains to “show some guts” and sail through the contested Strait of Hormuz.
• Over time, however, whatever succor Trump provides to the economy by saying that the war is nearly over is likely to be canceled out by his administration’s vacillation.  Markets seek stability, and Trump can’t seem to decide on a talking point, much less a strategy or aim for the war itself.  Trump offered 10 different rationales for the war in its first six days alone.
• Trump appears confused not only about the future of the war but also about some of its basic facts.  The U.S. has faced international criticism over a missile strike on a girls’ school in Iran, which was next to a naval base that was also struck.  Iranian authorities say that about 175 people were killed at the school, mostly children.  Over the weekend, Trump said that the attack was friendly fire.  ‘In my opinion, and based on what I’ve seen, that was done by Iran,’ he said.
• Since then, evidence has emerged that the missile that struck the base was a Tomahawk, an American-made weapon.  Yesterday, Trump claimed that Iran possesses Tomahawks.  ‘Whether it’s Iran or somebody else, the fact that a Tomahawk — a Tomahawk is very generic,’ he said.  ‘It’s sold to other countries.’  This is nonsense:  Only a few U.S. allies, including the United Kingdom and Australia, are known to have them.

The Atlantic’s conclusion:

“No president can or should be expected to know everything. This is why he’s provided with a Cabinet and a team of other advisers, an executive branch full of subject-matter experts, and a Congress and judiciary to serve as checks on him. The problem is that Trump wants to operate with complete freedom from any restrictions and without waiting for advisers’ input.”

But Trump is not “any president.”  He doesn’t deal with reality because he is in his own little world, one he makes up on the fly.

And the fact is that all Americans are worse off for it.