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.

This department, one of three I run, is open again after closing for only a few days. The reality is that there are so many good quotes it is not possible to leave the department closed for too long.

So, here goes.

From William Galston in the Wall Street Journal: “There is a reason, however, why witnesses swear to tell not only the truth, but also the whole truth and nothing but the truth. An individual fact is usually one strand of a complex ensemble of facts. Stating one fact while leaving others unsaid can distort as much as it reveals. Stating a fact while misrepresenting others is a strategy of concealment. This is what prompted Churchill’s famous remark that ‘in wartime, truth is so precious that she should always be attended by a bodyguard of lies.’

“Churchill’s statement reminds us that there are two ways of misconstruing facts—inadvertent and deliberate. The former is a mistake, the latter a deceit. It’s usually not hard to determine the difference. If someone who misstates a fact corrects himself when given compelling evidence, the error is a mistake; if not, a lie—or an article of faith masquerading as an empirical proposition.”

Comment: The New York Times and other media outlets have taken pains to count the number of lies or half-truths Trump has told. The number is in the thousands. Rarely, if ever, does he walk back false statements. He just tells more lies in an effort – sometimes successful to a degree – to steer the media away from the real story and onto his version of truth, which, frankly, does not exist.

From the Wall Street Journal editorial writers: “The smarter political play might be to wait until 2020 and ride a potential wave of national fatigue with Trump, but don’t underestimate the degree to which liberals want this president to be politically humiliated and legally punished. Read their Twitter feeds and columns if you don’t believe us.”

Comment: The point of the editorial was to suggest that, rather than impeachment if they take control of Congress in the coming elections, a better strategy would be to weaken Trump between now and 2020 so the D candidate for president, whomever that is to be, would have an easier time taking Trump down. Perhaps. Whatever is the case, plan on a couple years of seemingly never-ending controversy over the Trump Administration. [There’s that word again, administration, which surely cannot describe Trump as he flies by the seat of his pants.]

More from the Wall Street Journal: “Trump is a leader who demands loyalty without offering much in return. The seemingly paradoxical strategy helped get him to the presidency with an eclectic cadre cheering him on.”

Comment: The Journal’s comment was in relation to the feud between Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions who appears on the way out if only because he is now not loyal to Trump.

From Michael Gerson in the Washington Post: “Every time we gain a peek into the inner workings of Trump world, we see a leader with the ethics of an Atlantic City casino owner who surrounds himself with people chosen for their willingness to lie and cheat at his bidding. A world in which Paul Manafort is ‘a very good person.’ A world in which payoffs and election tampering are all in a day’s work.”

Comment: Gerson is right. In Trump, “we have a leader who surrounds himself with people chosen for their willingness to lie and cheat at his bidding.” Without moral bearings, Trump himself comes across as a liar and a cheater.

More from the Wall Street Journal: “Officials granted leave to nonessential state employees.”

Comment: This sentence was part of a story on hurricane force winds and rain pummeling the Hawaiian Islands. I could have placed this item in the Department of Pet Peeves, but I wonder why governments have employees if there are not essential. What, in the world, is a non-essential state employee?