PERSPECTIVE FROM THE 19^TH HOLE: This 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 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 of my professional positions, including as a Congressional press secretary in Washington, D.C., an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and 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 had the privilege over the last few days to serve as the starter for the annual Oregon Senior Men’s Amateur, which was hosted by Illahe Hills Golf and Country Club where I have been a member for more than 30 years.

There were nearly 100 senior players in the tournament, which eventually was won, in the Champions Bracket, by Portland golfer Randy Mahar. I have known Randy for many years, including when I caddied for my son, Eric, when he played Randy in tournaments.

Randy is a consummate gentleman, which was illustrated at the winners’ ceremony at the end of the tournament. He came across as humble, saying that he felt fortunate to win against so many good players.

That included Illahe’s own Ken Forster, who has been a solid golfer for many years. In the tournament, Ken won medalist honors in the first day of stroke play, posting a 67, which is seven strokes under his age. I am still trying to shoot my age, but it make take at least a few more years, not to mention good luck.

In a great match, Mahar beat Forster 1-up, by winning the 18^th hole.  Ken gave Randy credit for playing better than he did in a great final match.

In one of the lower flight matches, Illahe’s own Jon Carey, retired athletic director at Western Oregon University, beat his opponent 1 up. He led all the way, but in one earlier match, he was down three holes with four to play. And he won all four to prevail 1 up. Illahe members Mike Whitnack and Mark Cruise also played and survived one round of match play.

Many of us, me included, feel fortunate to play a great course, Illahe Hills, every day. So it was gratifying to hear so many positive comments as I greeted players on the first tee. They were particularly positive about the fairways and greens, which, if you think about it for a moment, is complimenting almost the entire course because, as a golfer, you like to avoid hazards such as bunkers – which, I add, are new and play well if you happen to get into them.

It is noteworthy for a private club like Illahe to devote its course to a tournament for nearly all of one week. The good news is that members were not frozen out of playing during the week. Good work by the Illahe pro shop staff – head pro Steve Bowen, first assistant BJ Lewis, and second assistant Blake Bowen – enabled members to play without disrupting the tournament.

The organization that ran the tournament — the Oregon Golf Association (I am a volunteer for the association) — is a great non-profit. It organizes hundreds of tournaments every year for players of all ages. It is a very well-run organization, a credit to the game of golf in our region.

Finally, I add that the only problem with the tournament this past week was when my wife, as she saw me in required get-up – hat, sport coat and tie – said I looked a lot like Donald Trump.

Hearing that, given my antipathy for Trump, I almost retired from my volunteer job!

PERSPECTIVE FROM THE 19^TH HOLE: This 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 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 of my professional positions, including as a Congressional press secretary in Washington, D.C., an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and 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.

If state government is going to operate more effectively and efficiently, then there are several questions policymakers should ask as they review individual pieces of legislation up for consideration.

Though I often advocate asking these questions as a new legislative session starts, they also apply during what’s called “the interim” between regular sessions in Salem.

But, while state government executives do not legislate, they can have a beneficial affect on the agencies by asking the same questions.

1.  Is there an appropriate role for government to play?

This is a question seldom asked, at least on the record.  Many policymakers simply assume that, if there is a problem, then there should be a state response to it.  The evidence is found in the 3,500 to 5,000 bills introduced every legislative session.

If the question were asked routinely, the answer would not automatically be yes or no, but would depend on the specific situation.  Often, the simple act of asking the question and considering the answer would be a step in the direction of aligning state government programs with available resources.

Policymakers should reserve the right to say there is no appropriate role for state government.

2.  What is the state getting for the money it is spending?

Call this “performance-based” government.  Or, as a business person might say, “what is the return on the investment?”

It sounds obvious that state government spending should be based on this premise.  But performance-based operation is the exception, not the rule.

In fact, in social services law in Oregon, the first instance of the use of the phrase in contracting for social services occurred in the 2011 legislative session when lawmakers passed and the governor signed Senate Bill 964, now ORS 418.190-195.  It deals with contracted programs designed to provide services to Oregon’s foster children.

In terms of full disclosure, I was the prime advocate for the bill on behalf of my firm’s client, Youth Villages.

At the time, I would have hoped that the officials at the Department of Human Services would have supported the proposition because, if nothing else, it would help end contracts that were not performing effectively. But, no, we were able to pass the proposition only over the objections of the agency.

3.  How will state action affect the private sector — especially individual and corporate taxpayers on whom the state depends for the money to fund its operations?

Jeb Bush, the former Florida governor, wrote this in a Wall Street Journal piece several years ago.

“We have to make it easier for people to do the things that allow them to rise.  We have to let them compete.  We need to let people fight for business.  We need to let people take risks.  We need to let people fail.  We need to let people suffer the consequences of bad decisions.  And, we need to let people enjoy the fruits of good decisions, even good luck.

         “That is what economic freedom looks like.  Freedom to succeed as well as to fail, freedom to do something or to do nothing.  People understand this.  Freedom of speech, for example, means that we have to put up with a lot of verbal and visual garbage in order to make sure that individuals have the right to say what needs to be said, even when it is inconvenient or unpopular.  We forgive the sacrifices of free speech because we value its blessings.     

         “But when it comes to economic freedom, we are less forgiving of the cycles or growth and loss, and of failure and success that are part of the realities of the marketplace and life itself.

         “Increasingly, we have let our elected officials abridge our own economic freedom through the annual passage of thousands of laws and their associated regulations.  We see human tragedy and we demand a regulation to prevent it.  We see a criminal fraud and we demand more laws.  We see an industry dying and we demand it be saved.  Each time, we demand, “Do something…anything.”

Asking and answering the issues Bush poses in his quote would go a long way toward creating appropriate limitations on the role of government, both in Oregon and nationally.

So I say this to government: Ask the right questions and don’t be afraid to answer logically and honestly! Doing so will benefit all of those who depend on government “to get it right.”

PERSPECTIVE FROM THE 19^TH HOLE: This 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 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 of my professional positions, including as a Congressional press secretary in Washington, D.C., an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and 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 was fortunate yesterday to be otherwise occupied and so couldn’t watch the circus atmosphere in the Senate Judiciary Committee’s first day of hearings on the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court.

Calling it a “circus” is to give it a compliment, at least based on what I read in the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post.

For my part, I say a pox on both parties in Congress. Each does a bad job of conducting its affairs, including when the public has a chance to look in on the process. Republicans irritated Democrats when they refused to consider President Barack Obama’s nomination of Merrick Garland to the country’s highest court.

Now, Democrats are trying to get even by contending that the Republican confirmation process has gone astray to serve conservative, Republican ends.

Here’s how writer Amber Phillips put it in a Washington Post story:

“The Brett Kavanaugh Su­preme Court hear­ings are ugly, there’s no ar­gu­ing that. Democrats are try­ing to end the hear­ing before it gets start­ed. There are re­peat­ed in­ter­rup­tions by protesters. Re­pub­lic­ans are ac­cus­ing Democrats of the e­quiv­a­lent of con­tempt of court and protesters of ‘mob rule.’ It’s a man­i­fes­ta­tion of the hyper-politicized en­vi­ron­ment we find our­selves in.”

Phillips is right. She went on to compliment one senator, Ben Sasse, Republican from Nebraska, for his analysis of the “process,” if you even can call the first hearing part of a “process.”

“In a word,” Sasse said the problem “is Congress.”   And he added: “In a few more words, Congress is ab­di­cat­ing its duty to write laws, which leaves people to place their hopes in the ju­di­cial branch to try to get their prob­lems solved. At the end of the day, a lot of the pow­er del­e­ga­tion that hap­pens from this branch is be­cause Congress has de­cid­ed to self-neu­ter.”

Sasse broke down his ar­gu­ment into four bullet points, which are worth considering:

1. Congress is set up to be the most po­lit­i­cal branch. “This is sup­posed to be the in­sti­tu­tion dedi­cat­ed to po­lit­i­cal fights,” Sasse said.
2. But in the name of politics, lawmakers have de­cid­ed to keep their jobs rath­er than take tough votes. “Most people here want their jobs more than they re­al­ly want to do legis­la­tive work, and so they punt their legis­la­tive work to the next branch,” Sasse said.
3. Be­cause Congress of­ten lets the ex­ec­u­tive branch write rules, and Americans aren’t sure who in the gov­ern­ment bureauc­ra­cy to talk to, that leaves Americans with no oth­er place than the courts to turn to ex­press their frus­tra­tion with poli­cies. And the Su­preme Court, with its nine vis­i­ble mem­bers, is a con­veni­ent out­let. Sasse: “This trans­fer of pow­er means people yearn for a place where politics can be done, and when we don’t do a lot of big po­lit­i­cal debate here, people trans­fer it to the Su­preme Court. And that’s why the Su­preme Court is in­creas­ing­ly a sub­sti­tute po­lit­i­cal battle­ground for America.”
4. Sasse’s final point: “This proc­ess needs to change. If Congress did more legis­lat­ing, these Su­preme Court nom­i­na­tion bat­tles would get less po­lit­i­cal,” he ar­gues: “If we see lots and lots of pro­tests in front of the Su­preme Court, that’s a pret­ty good ba­rom­e­ter of the fact that our re­pub­lic isn’t heal­thy. They shouldn’t be pro­test­ing in front of the Su­preme Court, they should be pro­test­ing in front of this body.”

To contend that Congress has failed to do its duty, thus leading to the circus atmosphere in the Senate Judiciary Committee, could be an understatement.

I have been part of confirmation processes in Salem and in Washington, D.C. They became more about political than about qualifications to hold public office, which, I guess, is another way to underline Senator Sasse’s points.

It may be hoping and dreaming, but I hope and dream that Congress will find a way to get back to doing the public’s business instead of, as Sasse put it, “wanting their jobs more than they re­al­ly want to do legis­la­tive work.”

Call me PollyAnna.

And, good that I will be otherwise occupied today so won’t have to endure another day of the circus in Washington, D.C.

PERSPECTIVE FROM THE 19^TH HOLE: This 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 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 of my professional positions, including as a Congressional press secretary in Washington, D.C., an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and 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.

If state government is going to operate more effectively and efficiently, then there are several questions policymakers should ask as they review individual pieces of legislation up for consideration.

Though I often advocate asking these questions as a new legislative session starts, they also apply during what’s called “the interim” between regular sessions in Salem.

1.  Is there an appropriate role for government to play?

This is a question seldom asked, at least on the record.  Many policymakers simply assume that, if there is a problem, then there should be a state response to it.  The evidence is found in the 3,500 to 5,000 bills introduced every legislative session.

If the question was asked routinely, the answer would not automatically be yes or no, but would depend on the specific situation.  Often, the simple act of asking the question and considering the answer would be a step in the direction of aligning state government programs with available resources.

Policymakers should reserve the right to say there is no appropriate role for state government.

2.  What is the state getting for the money it is spending?

Call this “performance-based” government.  Or, as a business person might say, “what is the return on the investment?”

It sounds obvious that state government spending should be based on this premise.  But performance-based operation is the exception, not the rule.

In fact, in social services law in Oregon, the first instance of the use of the phrase in contracting for social services occurred in the 2011 legislative session when lawmakers passed and the governor signed Senate Bill 964, now ORS 418.190-195.  It deals with contracted programs designed to provide services to Oregon’s foster children.

In terms of full disclosure, I was the prime advocate for the bill on behalf of my firm’s client, Youth Villages.

3.  How will state action affect the private sector — especially individual and corporate taxpayers on whom the state depends for the money to fund its operations?

Jeb Bush, the former Florida governor, wrote this in a Wall Street Journal piece several years ago.

“We have to make it easier for people to do the things that allow them to rise.  We have to let them compete.  We need to let people fight for business.  We need to let people take risks.  We need to let people fail.  We need to let people suffer the consequences of bad decisions.  And, we need to let people enjoy the fruits of good decisions, even good luck.

         “That is what economic freedom looks like.  Freedom to succeed as well as to fail, freedom to do something or to do nothing.  People understand this.  Freedom of speech, for example, means that we have to put up with a lot of verbal and visual garbage in order to make sure that individuals have the right to say what needs to be said, even when it is inconvenient or unpopular.  We forgive the sacrifices of free speech because we value its blessings.       

         “But when it comes to economic freedom, we are less forgiving of the cycles or growth and loss, and of failure and success that are part of the realities of the marketplace and life itself.

         “Increasingly, we have let our elected officials abridge our own economic freedom through the annual passage of thousands of laws and their associated regulations.  We see human tragedy and we demand a regulation to prevent it.  We see a criminal fraud and we demand more laws.  We see an industry dying and we demand it be saved.  Each time, we demand, “Do something…anything.”

Asking and answering the issues Bush poses in his quote would go a long way toward creating appropriate limitations on the role of government, both in Oregon and nationally.

So I say to government: Ask the right questions and don’t be afraid to answer logically and forthrightly. Doing so will benefit all of those who depend on government “to get it right.”

PERSPECTIVE FROM THE 19^TH HOLE: This 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 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 of my professional positions, including as a Congressional press secretary in Washington, D.C., an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and 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 had an interesting and friendly exchange last week with a partner of mine from the firm from which I retired, CFM Strategic Communications.

In an internal communications vehicle, I had lauded a column that appeared in the Wall Street Journal by former U.S. Secretary of State James Baker. In his words: “John McCain recognized that resistance to compromise stands in the way of America’s advancement. We all would do well to heed his advice.”

My partner, a solid analyst of political trends – though we sometimes disagree – wrote this:

“I know you like the nostalgia of calling for common ground and compromise, but I fear the divisions are too deep to bridge at this point. There is an existential battle afoot to define (or redefine) what democracy means in America. A president derides the news media and denies what he said captured on tape. A racist comment about a Florida candidate is dismissed as ‘just the way white folks talk’ about African-Americans. Hispanics, including native-born citizens, are denied passports. Rules to protect the environment, consumers, endangered species and the health care for low-income people are rolled back or denied. Violence is predicted – and incited – based on election results. This is no longer a Democrat versus Republican divide. It is a battle for the values of the country.”

My partner went on: “Bernie Sanders advocates universal health care and free college education. Elizabeth Warren wants to curb corporate power and market concentration. Those aren’t the reasons the country is ripping apart.”

I differ from my partner in at least two respects.

First, if it is only nostalgia that advocates a return to the idea of compromise in politics, then I embrace nostalgia. If we don’t find a way for government to work better for ALL Americans, I fear we’ll see the end of democracy as we know it.

Second, I know folks on the right are not always open to “government in the middle,” but to laud Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren for their proposals for free health care and free education is give them far too much credit.

It is proposals like this from the left – even the far left – that will tear this country apart just as fulminations from President Trump and his ilk will tear the country apart from the right.

Plus, the two left-wing Democrats advocate “free government” that will aggravate the federal deficit. As a country, we simply cannot afford “more free stuff.”

So, to my partner, I say, yes, government from the “smart middle” still makes sense. It is not just nostalgia. It is a fond hope, perhaps even a dream.

Continue hoping and dreaming, I say.

PERSPECTIVE FROM THE 19^TH HOLE: This 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 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 of my professional positions, including as a Congressional press secretary in Washington, D.C., an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and 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.

Eulogies to the late Senator John McCain evoked a different time in our history, a time when individuals with different perspectives could enunciate those perspectives at one moment, then get along well in the next.

That was the senator from Arizona who, in death, was still able communicate messages about getting back to productive politics.

McCain asked specifically that the two persons who beat him in presidential races – George Bush and Barack Obama – speak at his memorial service in Washington, D.C.

Both agreed willingly.

Speaking before his flag-draped casket under the soaring stone arches of the Washington National Cathedral, both Bush and Obama denounced what they characterized as the toxic partisanship currently in the capital and praised McCain’s ability to rise above it.

“So much of our politics, our public life, our public discourse seems small, mean, petty, trafficking in bombast and insults, phony controversies and manufactured outrage,” Obama said before a host of current and former lawmakers and White House officials.

The former president noted a type of “politics that pretends to be brave and tough but is in fact born of fear. John called on us to be bigger than that. He called on us to be better than that.”

Bush said, “If we are ever tempted to forget who we are, to grow weary of our cause, John’s voice will always come as a whisper over our shoulder: We are better than this. America is better than this.”

Of course, without mentioning his name, both Bush and Obama were referred to President Donald Trump who (a) was not invited to the memorial service, and (b) spent his day tweeting and playing golf.

Other speakers at the service also alluded to Trump. “The America of John McCain has no need to be made great again because America was always great,” Meghan McCain, the senator’s daughter, said when she spoke, an apparent reference to the president’s campaign slogan “Make America Great Again.”

McCain’s daughter described her father as “the real thing, not cheap rhetoric from men who will never come near the sacrifice he gave so willingly.”

As he started speaking Obama joked that McCain’s request to have him and Bush speak at his funeral reflected his mischievous side.

“After all what better way to get a last laugh then by making George and I say nice things about him to a national audience,” Obama said.

It was a fitting conclusion to the memorials to the senator who stood for high principles of sacrifice and service. One hopes that his commitments could serve as an example for others in public life – or in private life, for that matter.

PERSPECTIVE FROM THE 19^TH HOLE: This 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 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 of my professional positions, including as a Congressional press secretary in Washington, D.C., an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and 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.

It doesn’t take a genius to suggest that President Donald Trump is in even more trouble these days than he was even a few days ago.

To illustrate, even I can recognize the jeopardy!

The box Trump created for himself got smaller as two former associates, Michael Cohen and Paul Manafort, had their days in court. In different ways, both were found guilty of misdeeds, which, even to an unpracticed eye, looked like they involved Trump.

Cohen’s attorney said as much as his client struck a plea deal with prosecutors, which could end up with Cohen serving up to five years in prison.

The court decision on Manafort did not implicate Trump in so many words, but it seemed logical to contend that our current president, the worst in history, had conspired with Manafort to commit various violations.

What I have written above is what you would have seen had you read any on-line newspaper last week. So, why repeat it here?

For me, two reasons. First, I always feel better if I share my thoughts and feeling better is a main purpose of this blog, regardless of who reads it. Second, my purpose is to share my sense of the implications of two legal decisions, far removed as I am from the seat of action in the East, for our sitting president, as well as the country. So, here goes:

• Rather than having a president who continues to defy justice and ethical behavior, we should have one who lives up to the expectations cited recently by Bill McRaven, the retired military veteran who managed the raid by U.S. troops that killed Osama Bin Laden. Here is what McRaven said:

“Like most Americans, I had hoped that, when you (Trump) became president, you would rise to the occasion and become the leader this great nation needs.

“A good leader tries to embody the best qualities of his or her organization. A good leader sets the example for others to follow. A good leader always puts the welfare of others before himself or herself.

“Your leadership, however, has shown little of these qualities. Through your actions, you have embarrassed us in the eyes of our children, humiliated us on the world stage and, worst of all, divided us as a nation.”

• It won’t be long before Trump joins Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton who came under severe criticism while they held the nation’s highest political office. Nixon resigned under pressure; Clinton endured an impeachment trial in Congress. Either of these could encompass Trump.
• It won’t take long for Trump to blame someone else for his misdeeds. In fact, he almost immediately dodged, bobbed and weaved, which, if you think about it for a moment, involve three different skills – and Trump exemplifies each. That’s what he always does – shift blame. Of course, I guess if he were to admit misdeeds, he’d be out of office.
• As all of us go through this kind of travesty, the involvement takes away what should be pleasure in seeing a U.S. economy that continues to percolate along and has set a milestone as the longest standing of any recovery. If Trump were smarter – and he is clearly not the smartest person in the room as he always contends – he would take solace, if not credit, in economic growth. Instead, he aggravates it most every day with continuing threats of more tariffs, as well as off-the-cuff comments that roil the stock market.

So, in summary, I believe we are watching the beginning of the end of the Trump Administration. For my belief, it cannot come too soon.

PERSPECTIVE FROM THE 19^TH HOLE: This 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 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 of my professional positions, including as a Congressional press secretary in Washington, D.C., an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and 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.

On many of my trips down by blog lane, I have bemoaned the lost art of political compromise.

I often have called it the lost art of finding the “smart middle” in political discourse and policy-making. Those on both sides would rather criticize each other, often in crude terms, than find areas of agreement.

So it was this morning that I read a piece by former U.S. Secretary of State James Baker, who served under President George W. Bush, in which he lauded the late Senator John McCain for his ability “reach across the aisle” and find compromise.

For me, there is no better way to underline the goals of the smart middle than to quote excerpts of Baker’s excellent commentary.

• “The death of Sen. John McCain is not just a moment to commemorate the life of an extraordinary man; it is an occasion to reflect on his principles. McCain was a hero and patriot, but he also was a politician who understood the importance of compromise. A staunch Republican, he nonetheless was able to reach across the aisle when he thought the interests of the American people demanded it. “
• “Few lawmakers today follow McCain’s example of compromise. Whatever one party proposes, the other opposes reflexively. When a legislator attempts to bridge the gap, his constituents often consider it a betrayal. No wonder so much of the public’s business is left undone. Government has become incapable of tackling critical issues. Instead, the parties ping-pong blame back and forth depending on which side is in power.
• “In my 88 years, I have never witnessed a problem as vexing as the continuing deterioration of America’s political dialogue. Although other threats during my lifetime have jeopardized our security—five hot wars and a cold one, the Great Depression and the Great Recession—Americans conquered them by working together rather than against one another.”
• “Sadly, however, civility, compromise and respect for the political center are being replaced with vicious language, pernicious partisanship and crippling polarization. The problems recur at every level of our political system, as our once firm center has given way to a destructive hyper-partisanship.”
• “In addition to this dislike for each other, distrust of politicians and institutions also has grown. Rather than address the real problems of the day, Americans and our representatives spend time blaming one another for our ills—both real and perceived.
• “There have always been partisan political fights in this country—that’s part of the democratic debate that has helped the American experiment work so well. But in the past leaders demonstrated common civility toward each other to reach the elusive center in governance. Doing so required each side to take positions that both could accept.”
• “In a statement publicized after his death, McCain stressed that Americans should take time to listen to one another, because brokering solutions requires measured collaboration, not torrents of outrage.”

Baker concluded by writing that, while there many causes behind this partisan divide, if it is left unaddressed, the void “threatens to undermine our democracy. “

Well said. Where are the James Baker types when we need them?

PERSPECTIVE FROM THE 19^TH HOLE: This 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 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 of my professional positions, including as a Congressional press secretary in Washington, D.C., an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and 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.

Only a day or so after his passing, the U.S. senator from Arizona, John McCain, appeared to have the last word in his continuing fight with President Donald Trump.

In a farewell letter (which is worth publishing in its entirety in this blog – see below), McCain didn’t mention Trump by name, but delivered a veiled rebuke, as he “called on Americans to rally behind the country’s founding ideals rather than hiding behind walls and succumbing to political tribalism. “

McCain’s letter continued: “We weaken our greatness when we confuse our patriotism with tribal rivalries that have sown resentment and hatred and violence in all the corners of the globe. We weaken it when we hide behind walls, rather than tear them down, when we doubt the power of our ideals, rather than trust them to be the great force for change they have always been.”

The Wall Street Journal called “The extraordinary letter a defiant coda to the years-long battle between the two men,” which started when Trump, incredibly, said McCain, who spent more than five years as a POW in Vietnam, was “not a war hero because he was captured.” Trump continued to snub the longtime senator throughout his battle with brain cancer.

McCain, in turn, pulled no punches in criticizing the president on foreign policy and other issues, most recently in a stinging denunciation of Trump’s summit with Russian President Vladi­mir Putin in Helsinki last month.

For Trump, flags at the White House even became an issue. First, he ordered that flags be flown at half-staff for only one day, a decision which stood in contrast to other such decisions on the passing of major public officials. Then, under increasing criticism, Trump wilted and ordered the flags at half-staff until McCain’s interment.

As for the last word, here is a reprint of letter McCain wrote for release after his death.

“My fellow Americans, whom I have gratefully served for sixty years, and especially my fellow Arizonans,

“Thank you for the privilege of serving you and for the rewarding life that service in uniform and in public office has allowed me to lead. I have tried to serve our country honorably. I have made mistakes, but I hope my love for America will be weighed favorably against them.

“I have often observed that I am the luckiest person on earth. I feel that way even now as I prepare for the end of my life. I have loved my life, all of it. I have had experiences, adventures and friendships enough for ten satisfying lives, and I am so thankful. Like most people, I have regrets. But I would not trade a day of my life, in good or bad times, for the best day of anyone else’s.

“I owe that satisfaction to the love of my family. No man ever had a more loving wife or children he was prouder of than I am of mine. And I owe it to America. To be connected to America’s causes – liberty, equal justice, respect for the dignity of all people – brings happiness more sublime than life’s fleeting pleasures. Our identities and sense of worth are not circumscribed but enlarged by serving good causes bigger than ourselves.

“‘Fellow Americans’ – that association has meant more to me than any other. I lived and died a proud American. We are citizens of the world’s greatest republic, a nation of ideals, not blood and soil. We are blessed and are a blessing to humanity when we uphold and advance those ideals at home and in the world. We have helped liberate more people from tyranny and poverty than ever before in history. We have acquired great wealth and power in the process.

“We weaken our greatness when we confuse our patriotism with tribal rivalries that have sown resentment and hatred and violence in all the corners of the globe. We weaken it when we hide behind walls, rather than tear them down, when we doubt the power of our ideals, rather than trust them to be the great force for change they have always been.

“We are three-hundred-and-twenty-five million opinionated, vociferous individuals. We argue and compete and sometimes even vilify each other in our raucous public debates. But we have always had so much more in common with each other than in disagreement. “If only we remember that and give each other the benefit of the presumption that we all love our country we will get through these challenging times. We will come through them stronger than before. We always do.

“Ten years ago, I had the privilege to concede defeat in the election for president. I want to end my farewell to you with the heartfelt faith in Americans that I felt so powerfully that evening.

“I feel it powerfully still.

“Do not despair of our present difficulties but believe always in the promise and greatness of America, because nothing is inevitable here. Americans never quit. We never surrender. We never hide from history. We make history.

“Farewell, fellow Americans. God bless you, and God bless America.”

And, I say farwell, John McCain, a true American hero, imperfect, to be sure, as we all are, but still a hero for his principled sacrifice and strong stands over his 81-year life.

******

As a footnote, the U.S. Senate is considering an appropriate tribute for McCain, but the decision will wait until after McCain’s memorial services. One option is to rename the Russell Senate Office Building after McCain, at least in part because of Senator Russell’s pro-segregation stance.

PERSPECTIVE FROM THE 19^TH HOLE: This 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 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 of my professional positions, including as a Congressional press secretary in Washington, D.C., an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and 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.

This, remember, is one of three departments I run with a free hand to manage them as I choose. Call me a dictator, not a director.

GETTING MY HANDS BACK ON PAPER: As a former journalist for a daily newspaper, I always have been fond of holding paper in my hands – even if it meant getting newsprint on my fingers – to read stories about news, sports and other topics.

So, it was that, in this age of technology, I had become more comfortable than I realized looking at newspapers – including the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post, not to mention the Oregonian and the Salem Statesman-Journal – on-line.

Then, this morning, there was a change.

My copy of the Wall Street Journal came early so I was able to read it in my hands.

Good.

I’ll probably continue following a combination of on-line and real-paper newspapers, but I have to confess that it was good to get back this morning to my former dirty-hands process.

REMEMBERING A GREAT QUOTE: Remember when then U.S. Senator Lloyd Bentsen, running for vice president a number of years ago, effectively skewered his opponent, Republican Dan Quayle, in a national debate.

With a hint of a sly grin on his face, Bentsen said, “Mr. Quayle, you are no Ted Kennedy!”

Quayle never recovered from the jibe.

All of this was called to mind this morning when I read a column in the Wall Street Journal by William McGurn. It was headlined, “She’s no Ted Kennedy!”

It was in reference to Senator Elizabeth Warren, who wants the top liberal mantle as she runs for president in 2020.

“Here’s some bad news for Senator Warren,” McGurn wrote. “I remember Ted Kennedy. I watched when Ted Kennedy turned Robert Bork’s name into a nasty verb. And I say this to the woman who now holds the late senator’s seat: Ms. Warren, you are no Ted Kennedy.”

TOUGH CHOICES AREN’T REALLY THAT TOUGH: I write that after reading another column in the Wall Street Journal this morning, one by Gerald Seib, who often comments sagely about political developments.

This morning, here is what he wrote:

“All of this means Republican candidates have a dual mission right now: Keep motivating base Trump voters, who want full-throated defenses of the president and odes to his hard-line immigration policies, while also luring mainstream Republicans and independents who dislike the president, but like lower taxes and less regulation.”

Seib is probably right – Republicans need to expand their tent in order to avoid a Democrat takeover this fall. But my view is that the good economic news – lower taxes and less regulation – could happen with another president, probably a Republican. What I cannot stomach is Trump’s continuing over-the-top, blabber-mouth, unethical behavior, which he continues to exhibit every day.