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.

President Donald Trump is mostly show, with little tell. He functions like a showman, someone who continues to preside over a reality TV show.

Columnist Gary Abernathy made this point today in a piece that ran in the Wall Street Journal.

“With Trump,” Abernathy write, “we get the cheesy, the shocking and sometimes the uncomfortable — just like a good drive-in movie. Trump never seems to study the script or know his part, at least as defined by those previously cast as the ‘President of the United States.’ His riffing and ad-libbing are endless sources of dismay from Democrats, the media and, quite often, Republicans. But drive-in movies never depended on good scripts.”

But, Trump, true to his showman form, loves the display.

“…Trump appeals to Americans,” Abernathy continues, “who were never invited onto the red carpet, a snub that was due in part to their lack of formal training in political theater. His fans are particularly offensive to highbrow critics.”

Trump benefits from the fact that establishment political figures in Washington, D.C. have been engaged in performances that seemed designed for their own edification, not the public’s benefit from good government. The audience – you and me – often seemed to be taken for granted or ignored outright.

That was one of the main factors that led to Trump’s presidential election win.

Even today, dismayed by the success of Trunp’s performance, the old guard’s faithful political ushers prowl the aisles, shaking Trump supporters by the shoulders and insisting they ‘wake up’ and give up on Trump.

To Trump, Abernathy writes, “invitation-only black-tie premieres are out; Friday nights at the drive-in are in.”

The drive=in metaphor may not resonate today because, to put a point on it, there aren’t many anymore. Still, whatever the comparison, the notion that Trump is a performance artist sticks.

Those who follow him appear to do so precisely because he defies most expressions of the “political order,” thus appealing to their perspective that “normal” political figures acted for their own aggrandizement. So, we Trump, the showman.

For me, the problem is that Trump’s performance wears thin because, in fact, it is thin.  And the country continues to be at risk.

To make this point, let me quote from comments from William H. McRaven, a retired Navy admiral, who was commander of the U.S. Joint Special Operations Command from 2011 to 2014 and who oversaw the 2011 Navy SEAL raid in Pakistan that killed al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

“Like most Americans, McRaven wrote, “ 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.”

Not Trump.