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.

I wrote the other day how comforting it was to me to have a seasoned legal pro, William Barr, sitting in the U.S. Attorney General’s chair.

I made that assertion minutes after Special Counsel Robert Mueller delivered his long-awaited report to the AG.

I could write that sentence again, with confidence, after watching a few days of the to’ing and fro-ing over the Mueller report and the AG’s summary of it.

Many Democrats feel Barr should be required to release the full report even if it violates certain provisions of the order creating the Special Counsel in the first place, or even if it violates long-accepted legal practice, such as not releasing transcripts of grand jury proceedings in order not to incriminate those who might have testified, or even if it jeopardizes ongoing investigations.

None of this matters to many Democrats who believe they, and only they, have the smarts to analyze the full report.

And, if they want to use the report to tarnish President Donald Trump, well, he deserves it given his reprehensible conduct in office.

And, of course, President Donald Trump, to his discredit, continues to do what the Washington Post’s James Hohmann describes in his Daily 202 Column:

“Even when a story is great for him, Trump still has a penchant for over-hyping just how great.

“He’s a billionaire, yet he inflates his wealth. Trump Tower is a tall building, yet he sprinkles in extra floors. He’s tall but overstates his height. Trump got elected president by winning the Electoral College, but, insists, without evidence, that he also would have won the popular vote if millions of undocumented immigrants hadn’t cast ballots illegally.

“When the Islamic State was battered, he said it was eradicated. There are many more examples.”

Back to AG Barr.  He reiterated on Sunday that his “goal and intent” is to release as much of the report as possible. Barr said he’s asked Mueller to help identify information in his report that cannot be released publicly because it’s related to grand jury deliberations or other ongoing investigations that have been referred to other offices.

“As soon as that process is complete, I will be in a position to move forward expeditiously in determining what can be released in light of applicable law, regulations, and Departmental policies,” Barr wrote.

It is important to add that a clause in the document creating the Special Counsel allows the AG to release the full report, with, of course, redactions.

I suspect Barr will do that. But, again, I am very glad he is in the top chair making that and other decisions about what comes next.