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.

One of my favorite columnists, Peggy Noonan, wrote the other day about an interesting focus group conducted by reputed national pollster Peter Hart.

He gathered 12 “regular citizens” in a room and asked questions about the current presidential campaign, questions that resonate with many of us who have watched the current depressing run for the nation’s highest political office.

Here is one exchange reported by Noonan:

“Raise your hand, said Mr. Hart, if you like both candidates. No one did. Raise your hand if you like one candidate. No one did. Raise if you don’t like either. All 12 did.

“When asked to describe the America they want, they wrote things like ‘a solid education system, ‘no longer at war,’ ‘people have joy in their work,’ ‘leading the world in everything, including morals, ‘equal opportunity and reward based on work,’ ‘people haven’t lost their homes,’ and ‘a culture that improves us as a people.’”

Agreed.

One of the risks in the current debacle of an election is that it leaves us, as Americans, more dubious about our future.

If Clinton wins, we’ll be subjected to more lies and unscrupulous behavior.

If Trump wins, we’ll be embarrassed by his conduct, his words, his actions and an inability to take other than an “I am great” approach to anything.

Hart’s focus group is interesting for another reason. It did not produce just a slew of negatives from the respondents.

There was some optimism. Hart asked whether there could be a good outcome from this election. Five of those in the room answered “yes,” including this comment. “We’re a hardy bunch,” said a woman. Another: “It’ll stick in our minds. We’ll learn from it.”

Also this week, San Francisco columnist Kathleen Parker worried that there only days remaining before the time comes to vote (unless you have done what I have done in Oregon, which is to vote by mail early). “Wait, no, I’m not ready!” Parkear said. “Where’s the one I want to vote for? Can it be true that either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump will be the next president of the United States? For real? Is this really all we’ve got?

Where, Parker wondered, “is the individual who compels us to cheer for the good that unites us, the virtue that defines us, the strength that sustains us and the faith that tomorrow will always be better? Where is the sunny, aspirational leader who understands the frustrations of Trump supporters and the sense of left-behindness of people on both left and right?”

Parker also worries that decent people – more decent than either of the presidential candidates – may decide that getting into public service isn’t worth the total surrender of one’s autonomy and privacy.

“Who can blame them? Thus, our next president will be chosen not with the enthusiasm of a well-informed electorate but with the forelornness that comes of having no better option.”

So, amidst all of the depressing news, how can we not only survive, but thrive? As the focus group and Parker note, there are ways to find optimism. One is to maintain a sense of personal equilibrium, knowing that, this too, will pass and we can learn from the experience.

Another is to remember, as Parker urges, “the good that unites us, the virtue that defines us, the strength that sustains, and the faith that tomorrow will always be better?

Beyond that, I say find your own roots.

For me, roots are family and friends, buttressed by the reality of having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, which provides a basis for living day-to-day, as well as being optimistic about the future.