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 someone who likes words, a great phrase jumped at me as I read the New York Times.

Describing a candidate for governor of California, Steve Hilton, the writer said this:

“Hilton will have to complete one of the toughest acrobatic acts in politics — that of a loyal yet ambitious politician trying to quarantine himself from a deeply unpopular leader and kiss the ring at the same time.”

The target, of course, was Donald Trump who helped Hilton get past the primary election in his run for governor, but who could be an anchor around Hilton’s neck as the candidate tries to win in a “blue state,” California.

Thus, the “political acrobatics.”

Something similar could occur in Oregon as Christine Drazan tries to be the first Republican governor in Oregon in more than 40 years.

She’ll have to do her own political acrobatics.

On one hand, she’ll have to rail against political problems in the administration of current Governor Tina Kotek, a Democrat who is running for her second term.

On the other hand, in “blue Oregon,” she’ll have to figure out a way to distance herself from Trump and the terrible result of his “policies” – if he actually has policies – in Oregon.

It will be acrobatics of a different sort than what is facing Hilton to the south.

The definition of the word “acrobatics” adds perspective to the challenge facing Drazan.

“The performance of extraordinary feats of balance, agility, and motor coordination.”

It’s too early to say that Drazan will compete this balancing-act, but early polls suggest she has a chance.  So much so that Kotek sent out a recent fundraising letter asking for money because “she was behind.”

All this will become a bit clearer as we approach Labor Day.  It usually is about the time that Oregonians begin to consider politics and how they might vote in a couple months.

So, don’t bet on the outcome yet.  Just watch for the acrobatics.