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.

It was raining down here in La Quinta, California nearly all day yesterday, so I didn’t have much to do, including no golf.

So, forgive me, I watched hours of the televised confirmation hearing on President Donald Trump’s nomination of William Barr to head the federal Department of Justice and serve as the nation’s attorney general.

Barr, now 68 years old, served as attorney general in the George H.W. Bush administration, and, for the last 20 years or so, has practiced private sector law.

Based on what I saw, Barr acquitted himself very well before a committee, which, no doubt, will recommend his confirmation to the full Senate, though its membership includes several Democrats who think they have a chance to run for president in 2020.

The last time the committee met was to consider the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to be a Supreme Court justice, so yesterday’s proceeding on Barr was far less controversial.

Still, Democrats are preparing to oppose Barr simply because he has been nominated by Trump. In the end, though, Barr he may draw some D votes as the full confirmation process moves toward conclusion. His record of public and private service is stellar enough to surmount at least some of the political positioning.

In a smart public relations move, Barr brought his family to the hearing room, including his grandson, Liam, who won plaudits from Judiciary Committee members for his ability to sit through a long proceeding. At one point, Liam even passed a note to his grandpa saying that he, Barr, was doing a great job before the committee.

For me, one key takeaway from the day’s hearing was Barr’s refusal to indicate that he would yield any of his statutory authority to lower-level officials in his department.

What do I mean by this? Well, Senator Kamala Harris, a likely 2020 presidential candidate, pressed Barr on whether he would accept advice from the Department’s Ethics Office that he should recuse himself from overseeing Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s ongoing probe of Russian election interference and possible obstruction of justice charges.

Barr said he would be open to Ethics Office advice, but would make his own decision based on the statutory authority of his position. In other words, he would accept recommendations from the Ethics Office, consider that advice, then make his own decision – which is exactly what an Executive Branch official should say and do.

Harris pressed him, asking why he might not follow staff advice.

In a response that struck a chord with me as a former government official, though obviously, not at the level of Barr, he said his answer would be, “if I disagreed with the advice.”

Harris wanted him to defer his authority to career bureaucrats in the Ethics Office. Barr said no. Good for him!

A second issue that caught my attention revolved around potential public release of the Mueller Report once it is complete and has been forwarded to Barr.

Again, vowing Executive Branch discretion and adherence to the law, Barr would not commit to a full and public release of the Mueller report, though he went on record advocating as much transparency as possible.

“The rules say the special counsel will prepare a summary report on any decision to prosecute or decline to prosecute and the report shall be confidential and be treated as any other declination or prosecutive material within the department,” Barr said Tuesday.

To Barr’s credit, he refused to bow to pressure from various Democrats to violate the law. Of course, the Ds wouldn’t put it that way, but no matter, Barr stuck to his guns. Again, good for him!

And, no doubt he won’t care that Senator Dianne Feinstein said today that she will not vote for Barr unless he pledges now to release the entire report. If he said that today, he would be violating the law. [Remember, it was Feinstein who conducted herself in such bad form in the Kavanaugh hearings.]

Why does it appear that I am advocating for Barr? The answer is simple. This time around, Trump has nominated a very credible official to take the nation’s top law enforcement job.

He won’t be bullied by the president, by the media – or importantly for his confirmation hearing – by Congress.

This quote verifies Barr’s independence and credibility.

“I will not be bullied into doing anything I think is wrong—by anybody, whether it be editorial boards, or Congress, or the president.”

Kudos to Barr as he takes on a position that he doesn’t need near the end of his career – and as he deals with a president who often isn’t interested in the rule of law Barr espouses.