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.

Democrats are setting out to blame President Donald Trump for the shutdown.

Republicans are setting out to blame Democrats.

Guess what?

No one wins, at least in the mind of this citizen who also writes this blog, as well as many others who want government for the benefits of citizens.

I say that after watching TV yesterday to see Congress meeting, but not doing anything. Why are they there if they are not intending to do anything about the shutdown?

Of course, Congress needs the president to negotiate. It is not possible to negotiate with yourself and the president is in no mood to find middle ground. Negotiating with Trump is like negotiating with jello.

At least for that reason, leading House Democrats say they won’t negotiate with Trump until he lands on a position and stays there. That, in turn has prompted some Republicans to blame Democrats for pulling out of negotiations.

One bad turn deserves another. Stupid!

Leon Panetta agrees with me – or perhaps I agree with him. Remember Panetta?

He was budget director and White House chief of staff under President Bill Clinton and defense secretary and CIA director under President Barack Obama. He served eight terms in Congress representing California.

Panetta wrote a piece for hill.com and the Washington Post that suggested there are five lessons from previous shutdowns that no one – not Trump, not Congress – has learned.

He begins his piece this way:

“When budget negotiations broke down between President Bill Clinton and the Republican Congress in late 1995, a shutdown of the federal government occurred during the Christmas holidays. Republicans in the House, under Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Georgia), insisted on greater savings and cuts from Medicare. Clinton refused.

“As the president’s chief of staff, it was obvious to me that the longer the shutdown went on, the more the public blamed the Republicans. On January. 6, 1996, the Republicans relented when Sen. Bob Dole (R-Kansas), the majority leader, passed the appropriations bills without the cut to Medicare and the House went along. But the political damage was done.

“Since that time, the leaders of both parties have recognized that shutdowns are a bad way to do the country’s business. And yet, time and time again, the lessons from those shutdowns are never learned. Today, parts of the federal government again are shut down during the Christmas season, and the same mistakes are being made — particularly by the president and the Republican majority in Congress.”

Of course, Panetta is a Democrat, so some will discount his analysis, especially as he participates in the same game he pillories — blaming someone, this time Republicans. But, in any event, here are his five never-learned lessons:

• Harming people never works
• The more you blame others, the more the public blames you
• Negotiations are impossible without trust
• Never negotiate in public
• If the president fails, Congress must lead.

Panetta ends his piece by asking this good question:

“In our democracy, we govern either by leadership or by crisis. If leadership is willing to take the risks that come with the responsibility of power, we can avoid crisis. If not, we will inevitably govern by crisis. There are no winners in a prolonged shutdown. As the midterm elections made clear — those who fail the nation will not only lose the trust of the people, they will likely lose the next election.”

Here are a few perceptions from me in my post in the cheap seats out West:

1. The easiest and quickest answer would to be to meet in the middle. Congress has about $1.5 billion in budget bills for the wall. Trump wants $5 billion. How about $3 billion? Too simple, you might say. Agreed. But meeting in the middle is what almost everyone does almost every day.  Think of union negotiations. One side starts high. The other starts low. The end always is somewhere in the middle.
2. Trump and the parties in Congress don’t know how to negotiate. Each side just wants to beat the other sides, not negotiate. And, then the public continues paying the bill.
3. In the way of a pet peeve, so-called “non-essential” employees will be subject to the shutdown, at least initially. Perhaps this is just a simple case of a bad label, but guess what? If a government position does not fulfill an “essential function,” why does that position exist in the first place? Just asking.

So, why aren’t the President and Congress negotiating from the standpoint of the public interest? Who knows? Both deserve equal blame.