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Who Am I and Why Am I Here?
My name is Patrick J. Shanahan, and it is my hope that this web site will provide a little window between my mind, and soul, and the rest of the big, bad world. I have spent a good chunk of the past twenty years thinking, reading and writing about politics. Over that time I have found that the best way for me to "think through" an issue was to get it down on paper, so I began writing. I wrote letters to the Editor. I wrote columns for myself. I filled up notebooks with thoughts, observations and polemics. I joined Toastmasters to sharpen my speech writing and delivery skills.
After writing lots of things over a long period of time two things began to happen. First, I began to get a knack for compact, column length writing. It is a tough thing to go from zero to sixty and back again in 800 words or less. Second, I became more confident that I had figured out good answers to a lot of important questions. My columns became more confident, polemic and, I think, fun to read.
Writing for one's self is fine and dandy, for awhile. But if one believes in one's ideas, sooner or later the urge to share those ideas becomes irresistible. The purpose of this web site is to allow you to look at the good, the bad and the ugly of my thinking and writing, to allow you a chance to validate or protest. I have used the name "The View From the Ground" for the past several years. So much of what one hears, reads or sees in the way of commentary continues to come from a very tight crowd in Washington and New York. That's not a bad thing. There are an awful lot of remarkably talented and experienced folks in those towns who consistently produce outstanding stuff. But what has been missing is the view "from the ground".
I am a single dad, a way-too-young-widower, trying to raise three children by myself while holding down a more-than-full-time job as a Business Analyst in the heart of flyover country. My view is not one of gamesmanship, inside contacts or spin. I do not think in terms of who is winning or losing in D.C. I'm just an honest citizen, with both feet firmly on the ground, who hopes he has something of value to add.