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 this blog headline heralds, new golf courses in the Scottish Highlands beckon those who love golf, including me.

Not sure I’ll get there, but here is the way writer Martin Dempster put it in an edition of Links Magazine:

“Scotland’s golf-rich north is being energized by exciting new projects and timely additions to time-honored classics, beginning with venerable Royal Dornoch.”

Royal Dornoch is one of my favorite golf courses.  I have had the privilege of playing there three times, so much so that I echo what pro golfer Tom Watson said about it after he played it the first time – “It was the most fun I’ve ever had on a golf course.”

Rather than write too much myself about the new developments, I’ll cite highlights from Dempster’s great article.

• It would be silly to suggest that the Highlands — the most northerly region on the Scottish mainland — is a newcomer to golf.  We’re talking about an area deservedly famous for Royal Dornoch, as well as highly regarded courses like Nairn, Brora, Boat of Garten, and Fortrose & Rosemarkie, to name but a few.  [I have played all of them.]
• The Scottish Highlands is proving more popular than ever for visitors to the Home of Golf.  The opening of what was originally called Castle Stuart in 2009 — and its subsequent staging of four editions of the Scottish Open, including network coverage in the U.S. — helped raise the area’s profile, along with Nairn hosting the Walker Cup in 1999 and the Curtis Cup in 2012.

Castle Stuart is now called Cabot Highlands, having been added to the ever-growing Cabot Collection, and recently debuted a second course, called Old Petty, designed by Tom Doak.

• There’s also a lot happening at Royal Dornoch.  A new $18.5 million clubhouse will be fully operational for the start of the 2026 season.  So, too, the new par-three 9th hole on the club’s other course, the Struie:  The 175-yarder is the only hole on either course to face southeast toward the Dornoch Firth and already has been hailed as “a real cracker.”
• “Usually, the opening of a new clubhouse, which has been mooted for 30 years or more, would mark the end of the journey for any golf club.  But for Royal Dornoch, it is about what the next step is going to be,” says general manager Neil Hampton.  “The investment being made will pave the way for even greater economic and employment benefits for the wider community. “
• The same reasoning was behind the decision to build the second course at Cabot Highlands.  In 2015, Arnold Palmer was commissioned to create what would have been his first layout in Scotland; when The King passed away the following year, the task fell to Doak.  Aimed at complementing the original Castle Stuart course, Old Petty — its name paying homage to the 187-year-old church on the right side of the 2nd hole.
• New and exciting development isn’t just happening in and around Inverness.  To the south, in the area commonly known as the “Heart of the Highlands,” Discovery Land Company — the real estate developer and operator of private communities like Idaho’s Gozzer Ranch, Baker’s Bay in The Bahamas, and New York’s Silo Ridge — is turning the five-century-old Taymouth Castle into a luxurious place to live and play, starting with a just-completed renovation of its 100-year-old James Braid course.
• It is widely believed by people in the golf industry that the Highlands would get a further boost if the much-publicized Coul Links project ever gets the green light from the Scottish Government. Whether or not that happens remains to be seen in the face of strong opposition from environmentalists and wildlife groups.

To close this blog, Dornoch’s Captain Neil Hampton, who has lived and worked in the area for most of his life and is the chair of Golf Highland, a collective of 30 clubs and courses across the region, says this:

“No other area in Scotland offers such a variety of golfing experiences and price points, coupled with amazing scenery and the warmest of welcomes.  I am very proud of what we have to offer and how everyone comes together to make the golfing experience second to none.”

Okay.  One more visit to the Scottish Highlands and Royal Dornoch.  Perhaps.

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.

This headline is mine, though some of the words also appeared over a column essayist Thomas B. Edsall wrote for the New York Times.

Excerpts from the essay are worth reading because they point out the damage Trump is doing to our country.

So, read on and keep the barf bucket handy.

*********

• The damage President Trump has inflicted to the United States and the world is so enormous and wide-ranging that it is hard to grasp.  It runs the gamut from public and private institutions to core democratic customs and traditions, from the legal system to universities, from innocent targets of fraud to those duped into believing vaccines do more harm than good.
• Projections suggest there will be millions of dead men, women and children as a result of his budget cuts, which were made without direct Congressional approval.  A study published in The Lancet, the London-based medical journal, found that Trump administration cuts in U.S.A.I.D. funding “would result in approximately 1,776,539 all-age deaths and 689,900 deaths in children younger than 5 years” in 2025 alone.

“Over the remainder of the period,” the study continues, “the complete defunding of U.S.A.I.D. would cause an estimated 2,450,000 all-age deaths annually, leading to a total of 14,051,750 excess all-age deaths and 4,537,157 excess under-5 deaths by 2030.”

• There are the fraud victims who will never get court-ordered restitution because Trump pardoned the guilty.  In a June 2025 report, Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee found that “Trump’s pardons cheat victims out of an astounding $1.3 billion in restitution and fines, allowing fraudsters, tax evaders, drug traffickers to keep ill-gotten gains.”
• It doesn’t stop there.  America can thank the president for environmental deregulation that could sicken and kill people by the tens or even hundreds of thousands.  If successful, the E.P.A. would gut pollution rules that were estimated, according to The Associated Press, to save “more than 30,000 lives annually.”
• At the same time, the administration has been canceling funding for lifesaving scientific and medical research.   In November, JAMA Internal Medicine published “Clinical Trials Affected by Research Grant Terminations at the National Institutes of Health.”  It said that “in the first half of 2025, the N.I.H. terminated grants supporting 383 unique clinical trials, affecting 74,311 individuals.”
• Trump’s threats to pull out of NATO, his tariffs, not to mention his endless carping against and routine faulting of European leaders, have alienated allies who have stood with us for more than seven decades.  Over the Trump years, European views of America have nose-dived.
• Trump has assaulted the integrity of the presidency, turning the White House into a corrupt enterprise, pardoning donors as his family’s companies receive millions through cryptocurrency purchases from foreign companies and crypto operators subject to U.S. regulation.
• He’s fundamentally undermined the idea of an annual budget process and the concept of a balanced federal budget. These ideas were teetering before his presidency, but the Trump administration gave up on any pretense of seeking balance or an annual spending plan.

Michael Bailey, a political scientist at Georgetown, prefaced his assessment of Trump’s consequentiality by pointedly noting that he would rank Trump “as easily the worst president in U.S. history. The corruption and damage to long-term U.S. institutions and reputation are far beyond anything we’ve seen before,” including Andrew Johnson, James Buchanan and Rutherford Hayes.

So, the foregoing indicates that many American voters have elected a terrible president who operates the Oval Office as if it is a fiefdom.  Trump is corrupt and narcissistic. 

I only hope that we have enough fortitude to last the next two years.

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.

The Department of Bits and Pieces is now open again after being closed for a few months.

It is one of five departments I run with a free hand to manage as I see fit.  And, given the name, there is no symmetry between and among items I include, as the following will verify.

REGARDING DONALD TRUMP’S DEPRAVITY:  New York Times writer Frank Bruni has a good way of responding to depravity from the one, Trump, who thinks he is, not just president of the United States, but also a god.

Here is what Bruni wrote:

“I think it’s a mistake to become too practiced at shrugging off his depravity — which is a non-hysterical, wholly accurate word for it.

“I agree that focusing exclusively or excessively on it and hyperventilating is a waste of good breath, but his foul tirades demean the presidency, demean the country — demean every one of us — and it’s important that we never forget that.

“We can’t let those tirades become the new idiom for political discourse; we can’t pretend they haven’t diminished our standing in the world.

“That’s just ‘Trump being Trump’ is an inadequate response when, for example, he posts a video of himself as a pilot dumping torrents of excrement on protesters.”

Or, I add, when he pretends to be Jesus Christ as he pretends to heal the sick.

He isn’t Christ.  And he doesn’t heal.

It’s past time for all of us, as Americans, to oppose Trump’s depravity.

GOLF DECORUM UNDER SEIGE:  This blog headline originally appeared in Global Golf Post and I use it because, based on several recent events, it is accurate.  Two of these events.

• Robert McIntyre, the golfer from Scotland, hated his play at The Masters so he gave the finger to one of the ponds on the course and shouted swear words so loud anyone could hear.

• Sergia Garcia continued his expressions of bad behavior on a golf course, this time at The Masters.  Hating his drive on one hole, he smashed his driver on the turf, damaging it so a maintenance crew had come out to fix it.  Then, he hit his driver on a waste box near the tee so hard that the driver head flew off.  As I have said before, he should be banned from top tournaments, including the Masters.

TIME IN THE CALIFORNIA DESERT IS NEARING THE END FOR MY WIFE AND ME:  We have been fortunate for several years now to spend our winters in La Quinta, California, though Salem, Oregon remains our number one home.

We head back 1,000 miles north starting mid-next week, looking back fondly on our time here.  Which for me, means golf most days of the week. 

For wife, Nancy, it means long walks with our dog, Callaway, plus a few art classes.

Over our eight winters here, we have made good friends.  All of us will be looking forward to next year.

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.

This is one of five departments I run with a free hand to manage as I see fit.  Because, of course, I report to only one person – myself.

Therefore, the Department of Inquiring Minds is open again.

How do actors play corpses? 

Actors play dead by mastering breath control, going completely limp to eliminate muscle tension, and using shallow breathing techniques, often focusing on back ribs rather than the chest to minimize movement. The actor may hold his or her breath for 20–30 seconds, use specialized makeup for a pale look, or rely on dummies for longer scenes. 

Why did I think of this question?  Who knows?  But it may be, these days, so many shows focus on scenes in morgues.

That said, as I have watched actors playing dead, I have tried to see if there was only a small amount of movement on camera.  So far, haven’t seen anything.

What is the significance of the Artemis mission?

The successful mission around the moon and back to earth brought back a lasting memory for me – when, now about 50 years ago, Americans landed on the moon…and I watched on TV.

A story in the Washington Post captured another reason for the Artemis mission, one normal folks like myself would not understand until someone defined it for us.

“I did not expect to get drawn in by news and footage of the Artemis II mission a few weeks ago.  But soon enough, I was clicking on every new photo, watching videos, and searching for confirmation of a safe return home.  “Our readers were watching closely, too, and sent in some really interesting questions.  I shared them with my long-time colleague Sarah Kaplan, a climate and science reporter here at The Washington Post, and she called them ‘fantastic.’ “We’re starting with one I’ve actually considered a few times:  Why explore the other side of the moon?  Other than just curiosity, how is this important? “Sarah wanted to launch this with really ancient history, so I’m turning it over to her for a lesson here at the top.  “Let’s start by going back in time about 4.5 billion years.  “Back then, the infant solar system was crowded with would-be-worlds, called protoplanets, that were constantly colliding and combining with one another.  Out of this chaos, a massive, Mars-size protoplanet smashed into Earth.  The impact shattered both bodies, causing their materials to swirl together.   Most of this mixture coalesced back into our planet, but a fraction was flung into space and became the moon.  “We only know these facts about the moon because of material collected by the Apollo astronauts more than 50 years ago.   When Neil Armstrong brought back the first samples from the lunar surface, scientists were stunned to discover that they had almost the exact same chemical makeup as rocks from Earth.  “Before that discovery, researchers couldn’t agree on where our only natural satellite came from. But now the moon’s cataclysmal origin story, known as “the giant impact hypothesis,” is part of every textbook.  “This is just one example of how space exploration can open up whole new opportunities to understand the universe.” Where do all the yard trimmings go in Palm Springs, California?  Given that I live five months a year in Palm Springs, I often wonder where all the yard and tree trimmings go. Well, it’s relatively to find out.  All you do is consult Mr. Google.  I did and here is the answer: “Grass and tree trimmings are collected by Palm Springs Disposal Services via residential green carts and taken to composting or processing facilities, rather than to a landfill.  These organic materials are recycled into compost or mulch, in compliance with mandatory local organic waste recycling regulations.” When I have time between golf games, I may visit one of the composting or processing facilities. I also wondered roughly how many people work in the business of yard and tree trimming.  But, to this question, there appear to be  no statistics. Well, now you know, and I do too – given my inquiring minds quest.

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.

Donald Trump and one of sycophants, Pete Hegseth, continue to foment controversy as they seek to create a linkage that goes against all tenets of the Christian faith.

They ought to be ashamed of themselves. 

And so should those who voted for Trump as if he was some type of god.  Recently, some of the previously MAGA faithful have been questioning their support for Trump.  Good for them.

Two examples of Trump’s and Hegseth’s blasphemy:

1. In the most extreme case, Trump posted on his social media site a rendering that depicted him as acting like Jesus healing the sick.  He took the post down, but only after even his followers on the religious right lodged huge criticism.  Of course, in his words, he said he was playing doctor, not God.  Sure!
2. The Trump tribes’ anti-Christianity profanity came to light in a column by Frank Bruni, whose work is carried in the New York Times and elsewhere.  It appeared under this headline:  Hegseth’s Gospel of Carnage.

Here are excerpts from what Bruni wrote that verify the absurdity of Hegseth’s conduct.

• “I guess a zealot, by nature, can’t hide — too extreme are his convictions, too grand his designs, too consuming his arrogance.  And so, over recent weeks, Hegseth has fully revealed himself.  He has made clear that every missile the United States fires, every bomb it drops, every Iranian it kills, is for Jesus.  Praise be the Lord, who has given America the power to wipe out an entire civilization.  

“He brandishes assertions about God’s will with the exaggerated brio of an electronics merchant pressing fliers on pedestrians passing by his new megastore:  Have I got a holy war for you.  Embrace the death.  Exult over the destruction.  What only looks like hell is a ticket to heaven.”

• “At one point, Hegseth used a Pentagon news conference to celebrate Iranians’ experience of ‘death and destruction from above,’ and to beseech Americans to pray for troops daily, on bended knee, ‘in the name of Jesus Christ.’”

• “Hegseth has a tattoo on his right biceps that says ‘Deus vult,’ Latin for ‘God wills it.’  He has described that phrase as a battle cry during the Crusades, which, of course, pitted Christians against Muslims.  He titled his 2020 book ‘American Crusade’ — notice any fixation? — and wrote in it that Americans must fight like our fellow Christians 1,000 years ago.”

• “As Michelle Boorstein wrote recently in The Washington Post:  ‘Every month at the Pentagon, Hegseth hosts evangelical worship services that legal experts say are unprecedented.  His social media profile and public comments routinely espouse his understanding of Christianity, which is one that would dominate American life and cast those who disagree with him as God’s enemies.  He has brought clergy from his small Christian denomination to preach at the Pentagon, including a prominent pastor who says women shouldn’t have the right to vote.’”

Bruni asks how in the world Hegseth became Secretary of Defense, a very good question.  He has zero credentials for the position and he has turned it into just another show of Trump’s totally inaccurate view of the Christian faith.

I share Bruni’s question.

Then, beyond Trump and Hegseth, I read this in the Oregonian newspaper, reporting how Vice President J.D. Vance was treated as he appeared at a Turning Point convention in the South.

“The event affirmed Trump’s difficulty selling the war and how much he’s complicated his own political fortunes by assailing Pope Leo XIV and posting a social media meme that depicted himself as Jesus.

“’I did vote for Trump.  I am not a Trump supporter anymore,’ said Joseph Bercher, a Catholic who said he was glad that Pope Leo had expressed opposition to the war with Iran.

“Bercher said the Jesus meme, which the president took down after a rare conservative backlash, was a red flag indicating Trump’s true character.  He sees himself as like a demagogue or someone to be worshipped.”

The fact is that real Christianity assumes real followers – and I am one – will avoid acting like Trump and Hegseth.

According to the Bible, a real Christian is defined as a person who has personally received Jesus Christ as Savior, trusts in his death and resurrection for forgiveness of sins, and is transformed by the indwelling Holy Spirit.

Key characteristics and actions of a real Christian:

• A real Christian’s life shows tangible change in thoughts and actions, not just religious appearance.
• A real Christian’s life recognizes Jesus as both Savior and Lord, strives to obey his commands in daily life.
• A real Christian displays the “fruits of the Spirit, such as love, joy, peace, kindness, and self-control.”
• A real Christian demonstrates faith “through good works, serving others, and loving neighbors.”

Does any of this sound like Trump or Hegseth?

No!

But, no doubt, they will continue to mix up politics and real Christianity to their shame.

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 like words better than numbers, charts, graphs, or even photos.

So it was that I read a column by Maureen Dowd that appeared in the New York Times and perhaps elsewhere.

It appeared under this headline, which contains one of the words:  THE POPE BEDEVILS TRUMP.

Note the word “bedevils.”

Here is what it means:  To cause persistent trouble, distress, confusion, or torment to a person or thing, acting like a devil.

In the case of the Dowd column, it also could be a play on words.  Trump, who fancies himself as a god, if not The God, confronts a so-called devil – the Pope, so is “bedeviled” by him.

Of course, the Pope is not actually a devil.  He is just giving Trump a bad time and there is little Trump can do about it, no matter how hard he tries.  The Pope wins – always.

 Dowd used two more words that I did not understand until I consulted a dictionary:

• Strangelovian:  An adjective referring to nuclear apocalypse or mutually assured destruction, often brought about by incompetence, insanity, or shortsightedness.

Dowd says the word describes a bizarre, dark humor scenario reminiscent of the 1964 Stanley Kubrick film Dr. Strangelove or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.

Or, it also could describe Trump – incompetent, insane, and shortsighted.

• Solipsistic:  An adjective describing someone who is extremely self-centered or self-absorbed, acting as if only their own mind, experiences, and desires exist.  It stems from the philosophy that only one’s own consciousness is sure to exist, leading to a disregard for the perspectives or reality of others.

Again, sounds a lot like Trump.

A few years ago, I came up with a long list of words to describe Trump.  Now, I have three new ones.

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 of us who cannot believe that Donald Trump is president of the United States also cannot wait for his term to end.

If 2028 sounds like a long way off, it is. 

I hope we survive.

So it was that I read with interest a story from hill.com that listed contenders on all sides who might be aiming toward 2028, still more than two years away.

Here is how the story started (and for much of the following, I give credit to hill.com):

“The shadow primary for the next presidential race is already underway as both parties ramp up this year’s mid-term fight. 

“Potential Democrat contenders, from established names to rising stars, are openly weighing 2028 bids, signaling a wide-open field as their base searches for a new standard-bearer.

“Several top names, including former Vice President Kamala Harris, addressed the possibility at the National Action Network conference last week as they pitched visions for their party’s future. 

“Across the aisle, Vice President J.D. Vance is positioned as the MAGA movement’s heir apparent, but recent polling has suggested that Secretary of State Marco Rubio could contend to be the successor, stoking questions about where the GOP base will go after more than a decade of Trump dominating party politics.”

So, with that preamble, hill.com provided a roundup of the top 2028 presidential hopefuls.  Here’s the list by category:

Democrat comeback bids

Harris, who ran in 2020 and became the party’s pick in 2024, has remained at the fore of Democrat polling and chatter about who will lead the party in 2028 — and she’s openly admitted to considering a comeback bid.

“Listen, I might.  I might.  I’m thinking about it,” Harris said when asked directly whether she’d run again in 2028.  “I’ll keep you posted.” 

Her nationwide book tour, which focused on her short-runway 2024 campaign, fueled 2028 chatter, as did her decision not to run for governor in California.  Despite losing to Trump, she continues to top Democrat polling on the next presidential race.

And Pete Buttigieg, who ran in 2020 before joining former President Biden’s Cabinet to lead the Transportation Department, has also hinted that he could make a comeback bid in 2028. 

The Rev. Al Sharpton asked Buttigieg whether he should “be reserving a table” at Sylvia’s, where the two had a high-profile meeting during the Indiana Democrat’s 2020 run.

“You save me a seat, I’ll be there,” Buttigieg said.  He decided against running for Senate in Michigan last year, opening up more speculation about a possible presidential run.

Anti-Trump governors

Governors leading blue states have led party pushback against both of Trump’s administrations, and they’re crowding into talks of who could replace him in the Oval Office. 

Perhaps the most prominent among them is California Governor Gavin Newsom who is term-limited.  Long suspected of national ambitions, he’s come in second behind Harris in recent polls of a possible Democrat primary.

And more Democrat governors hinted at potential presidential campaigns.

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, who is running for a second term, teased at a potential 2028 bid, saying he wants to “be a part of that conversation” as Democrats grapple with the party’s direction.

Maryland Governor Wes Moore, who has repeatedly said he’s not yet thinking about a 2028 run as he runs for re-election as governor this fall, called on Democrats to “show me something now” when it comes to party action and momentum in the midterms. 

And Illinois Governor JB Pritzker praised Democrats’ 2028 bench without rejecting a run of his own.  He underscored that he’s running for re-election as governor this fall, but he’s committed to being “more involved than ever before” in 2028.

And there are still more Democrat governors’ names in the mix, including Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, as the blue state leaders draw focus with book tours, early state visits and media appearances.

MAGA heirs

As second-in-command, Vance has long been seen as the heir apparent to Trump, underscored by early 2028 polling.

The former Ohio senator, who was once a “never-Trump guy,” is the clear front-runner for GOP voters, besting rival GOP names by double-digits in hypothetical surveys.  

But Trump has heaped praise on Rubio as he navigates global conflicts, putting a spotlight on the former Florida senator who ran against Trump in 2016 for the White House and has since taken on multiple roles within the Republican’s second administration.

Rising stars, wild cards

Democrats are expected to crowd into the wide-open 2028 race, making room for rising stars and dark-horse candidates to overtake the field in the wake of the midterms. 

One such star is Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez , a popular progressive who joined the House during the 2018 blue wave.  As her rallies across the country with Senator Bernie Sanders cement her as an heir to his progressive movement, she’s seen a surge of momentum amid 2028 chatter.

Although she’s dodged questions about her plans, her growing national profile and fundraising prowess have pushed her further into the presidential conversation. 

Democrat Senators Cory Booker (New Jersey), Mark Kelly (Arizona) and Ruben Gallego (Arizona) have been named alongside blue state governors in 2028 chatter. 

And Rahm Emanuel, the former chief of staff to former President Obama, is also testing the waters for a 2028 bid as he offers sharp criticisms to his party.  

Again, 2028 seems like a long way off, but for a political junkie like me, it will be interesting to keep tabs on who’s rising and who’s falling.  And, as well, looking forward to post-Trump, no matter who wins.

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.

Concerns about government transparency prompted Oregon Governor Tina Kotek to veto a bill her party supported in the last legislative session in Salem, Oregon.

I have written before about the bill – House Bill 4177 – that was designed to help elected officials in local governments in Oregon function more effectively, fixing a situation that had arisen from the last time Oregon’s long-standing public meetings law was adjusted in 2023.

However, HB 4177 represented a poor fix and even some legislators who voted for it described it as inadequate.

Kotek agreed.

Here, based on reporting by the Oregonian newspaper, is how she described reasons for her veto:

“House Bill 4177, championed by Democrat Representative Nathan Sosa of Hillsboro, would have created a broad exemption for some or all members of local governments to meet in secret to ‘gather information related to a decision that will be deliberated upon or made by the governing body.’

“That would have allowed a quorum of a city council, county commission or school board or even the full body to meet privately to learn about a potential policy change, personnel action or spending choice without notifying the public of the meeting or the topic, journalism leaders and good government advocates said.”

In her official letter explaining her veto, Kotek indicated she sees a genuine need for more clarity to guide public officials on how they can legally communicate with each other and with constituents outside of public meetings.

She called on officials with the Oregon Government Ethics Commission “to work urgently, diligently, and openly with the Legislature, my office, and key stakeholders to provide as much clarity as possible between now and the next legislative session and develop workable language for passage in the 2027 session.”

Why do I care about this?

Well, when I served on the Oregon Government Ethics Commission (my second and final term ended last December), my colleagues and I encountered this issue.  We dealt with a number of complaints against local government elected officials who weren’t sure how to act under the 2023 law changes.

One of those changes prohibited “serial communications,” but that new term created difficult circumstances, as well as uncertainty.

The question was how to allow local elected officials to talk with each other outside of a public meeting without a “meeting in private” violation of the public meetings law.

As I have mentioned before, my fix was – and is — this:

I would allow elected officials to talk outside of a public meeting – otherwise there is only silence – and then, at the ensuing public meeting, if their conversations came to light, ask those officials to attest, perhaps even under oath, that they did not intend for a quorum to result from their conversations.

If they could so attest, they would avoid any penalty.

So, whether this one or something else, the need for a fix remains.  The work will be done in the 2027 legislative session that starts early next year.

I’ll be watching from my new post on the sidelines.

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.

This blog headline applies some uncertainty around a development that, if true, would be good news for me.

If LIV Golf dies, I would be a very satisfied golf fan.

That’s because LIV started and now depends on a questionable funding source – Saudia Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which has engaged in many morally tainted projects.  That reality has made me question the existence of LIV, including the decision made by various PGA Tour players to defect to it.

In Global Golf Post, here is the way writer Ron Green described the situation:

“As the PGA Tour’s $20 million RBC Heritage was coming to life Thursday morning at Harbour Town Golf Links, it was difficult to escape the swirling questions about the future of LIV Golf that have emerged this week.

“Nearly 2,000 miles away in Mexico City, LIV Golf will go on with business as usual this week with its sixth event of the season kicking off Thursday after speculation one day earlier that the rebel league could cease operations immediately.”

But, according to a memo from LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil, the LIV season is expected to be played to its completion this year, though several reports still suggest the Saudi Arabian funding could end at some point down the road.

Green also added this:

“This is the latest turbulent twist in LIV Golf’s relatively short existence and raises serious questions about its long-term viability.  According to various reports, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund has put approximately $5 billion into the golf league, which has failed to develop any significant traction within the United States.

“The Financial Times reported that, under the direction of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the PIF will reappropriate its vast resources to focus on different areas including domestic projects.  It is believed that means the funding for LIV Golf will end.”

Long-time golf analyst David Feherty disputed the death of LIV, blaming it on reporters who he said went too far to engage in speculation, suggesting that it was “news” when it wasn’t.

Trust him?  Not sure.  After all, he is paid by LIV, which indicates his substantial bias.

With LIV’s future now in serious doubt, talk of the league’s top players potentially returning to the PGA Tour will likely gain momentum as the year goes on.

And, to that, I say, good!

But, at the same time, I would favor exacting a financial price for returning.  Take the approach that was used with player Brooks Koepka and move forward with financial penalties, plus required contributions to major charities.

Post LIV, I hope we could return to the PGA Tour as the beacon of professional golf.  And again, may be best players win.

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.

This blog headline applies some uncertainty around a development that, if true, would be good news for me.

If LIV Golf dies, I would be a very satisfied golf fan.

That’s because LIV started and now depends on a questionable funding source – Saudia Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which has engaged in many morally tainted projects.  That reality has made me question the existence of LIV, including the decision made by various PGA Tour players to defect to it.

In Global Golf Post, here is the way writer Ron Green described the situation:

“As the PGA Tour’s $20 million RBC Heritage was coming to life Thursday morning at Harbour Town Golf Links, it was difficult to escape the swirling questions about the future of LIV Golf that have emerged this week.

“Nearly 2,000 miles away in Mexico City, LIV Golf will go on with business as usual this week with its sixth event of the season kicking off Thursday after speculation one day earlier that the rebel league could cease operations immediately.”

But, according to a memo from LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil, the LIV season is expected to be played to its completion this year, though several reports still suggest the Saudi Arabian funding could end at some point down the road.

Green also added this:

“This is the latest turbulent twist in LIV Golf’s relatively short existence and raises serious questions about its long-term viability.  According to various reports, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund has put approximately $5 billion into the golf league, which has failed to develop any significant traction within the United States.

“The Financial Times reported that, under the direction of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the PIF will reappropriate its vast resources to focus on different areas including domestic projects.  It is believed that means the funding for LIV Golf will end.”

Long-time golf analyst David Feherty disputed the death of LIV, blaming it on reporters who he said went too far to engage in speculation, suggesting that it was “news” when it wasn’t.

Trust him?  Not sure.  After all, he is paid by LIV, which indicates his substantial bias.

With LIV’s future now in serious doubt, talk of the league’s top players potentially returning to the PGA Tour will likely gain momentum as the year goes on.

And, to that, I say, good!

But, at the same time, I would favor exacting a financial price for returning.  Take the approach that was used with player Brooks Koepka and move forward with financial penalties, plus required contributions to major charities.

Post LIV, I hope we could return to the PGA Tour as the beacon of professional golf.  And again, may be best players win.