By Andy Pate

You may have seen it on TV and may see it again this weekend if you view the Masters golf tournament in Augusta, where you’ll witness the golfers trying their best to get down in three on the par three hole #16.

If you make the green on your drive, a straight putt is usually not the way to go.  The green slopes far too much for that.

The golfer may address the ball facing to the far side of the hole, then putt softly, aiming to make the ball curve in a huge arc so that it will roll gently down toward the hole and in, or stop near enough for a sure third stroke.

To find sanity in Politics 2016 requires something like that, I think, a curve around the issues and the candidates in order to see things clearly and make the best choice.

Every 2016 candidate – take any one – has presented himself or herself as being a straight-shooter.  Obviously there are, and have been, dozens of ways to attack that position, such as:

On Abortion, simply ask, how many pregnancies are there in progress at any given time?  and of that, the number unexpected, unwanted and unsafe? and who knows all this?

On ISIS, how do you deal sanely with lunatics?

On Immigration, how long has this problem been around in the United States?

On the Wall Street fat cats, how much money and will power do we the people need that will see to it that a balance in income among the social classes is restored?

Enough yet?  Gets complicated quickly, does it not?

So, for what it’s worth, I’ve decided to curve around the big issues and I’ve come up with six simple criteria for choosing which candidate I’m going to vote for:

#1 – Which candidate would I vote to be the president of my high school student body?

#2 – Which would I be most comfortable with over dinner at my house?

#3 – Which has a voice and looks that are most acceptable or unacceptable to my senses?

#4 – Which candidate do I most respect?

#5 – Which candidate would I most trust to care for my children and grandchildren?

#6 – Which candidate do I feel is the most well rounded person and best qualified to be the leader of the greatest nation on earth?

Enough.  I think these will work for me.