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 have written about this before, so sorry for the repetition. But, it is fair and accurate to point out that Attorney General William Barr is acting with skill and experience as he handles the follow-on issues related to completion of the Mueller report.

Here is a paragraph from the Wall Street Journal that makes my point:

“In his letter (to Congress), Barr said the report (the Mueller report) was nearly 400 pages, excluding tables and appendices, and that officials had no plans to submit the report to the White House for review of any confidential or privileged information. He said material related to intelligence sources, ongoing investigations, grand-jury matters and the privacy of individuals not charged with crimes will be redacted from any version made public.”

Kudos to him.

Note the phrase, “material related to intelligence sources, ongoing investigations, grand-jury matters and the privacy of individuals not charged with crimes will be redacted from any version made public.”

Nor should it, I add. An appropriately redacted report makes all the sense in the world – and that’s what Barr intends to prepare and release.

Many Democrats, including most of those who appear to be running to oppose Donald Trump in 2020, want the full Mueller report to be made public. They don’t care that laws and genuine legal traditions (such as protecting grand-jury deliberations) argue against full release.

I write none of this to defend Trump or protect him from a full review of his abhorrent conduct in office. He deserves to pay for his incredible lack of character and veracity.

Still, I remain confident in Barr’s ability to deal with all of these issues and to fend off the incessant, beyond-legal demands from the left.