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.

In my last blog, I wrote that it appears President Donald Trump operates without a cohesive strategy, preferring to fly by the seat of his pants, even when so much is at stake as he operates on the world stage.

I called his conduct “swagger, not strategy.”

Well, it appears that Senator Bob Corker, R-Tennessee, agrees with me – or perhaps, better put, I agree with him.

Here is what Corker said as he chaired a meeting of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to hear testimony yesterday from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo who also endured often-hostile questions and comments from committee members. Most of the questions related to Trump’s controversial conduct in the Helsinki Summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“You (referring to Pompeo) come before a group of senators today who are filled with serious doubts about this White House and its conduct of American foreign policy. From where we sit, it appears that, in a ready-fire-aim fashion, the White House is waking up every morning making it up as they go.”

I couldn’t have said it better.