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 to 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 press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon, as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as 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’s surprising, but perhaps should not be, that a great quote says volumes.

Better than a lot of words, which could be advice to me because I like words, sometimes too many of them.

One of my favorite quotes of all time was uttered by General Colin Powell a number of years ago when he declined to run for president when he “bemoaned the loss of civility in politics.”

Imagine what Powell would say today.

Or this one from former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, again dealing with the now-lost art of civility:

“Unfortunately, civility is hard to codify or legislate but you know it when you see it.  It’s possible to disagree without being disagreeable.”

Now, another new, great quote was contained in a Washington Post article yesterday.

“No one is empowered to speak for Trump but him,” a Republican congressional aide told me, speaking anonymously because he was not authorized to speak publicly. “People are afraid to say too much because it might be irrelevant in the next two minutes.

“Any messaging product that the White House puts out is as useful as a lighthouse in Kansas.”

Nothing more needs to be said.

Or, for those who may not appreciate analogies – ever heard of a lighthouse in Kansas? Nor have I.

That quote may be enough, but in trUE fashion, I persevere by calling out Trump’s behavior as the impeachment inquiry widens – often due to his own over-the-top behavior – and even as support for impeachment grows among Americans, according to several new polls.

As a now-retired public relations/lobbying executive, I used to counsel clients about how to deal with the media. If I was working for Trump – perish the thought; I never would – he violates all of the advice I would provide.

Here’s how.

• He intentionally foments controversy in a blatant attempt, often successful, to steer focus away from his own misdeeds.
• He debases his office by the most vulgar comments on record for any president in history.
• If someone has the temerity to disagree with him, he criticizes them in over-the-top words, the best example of which is his ridicule of the late Senator John McCain, even after McCain’s death.
• He intentionally violates laws because, as he contends, he can do what he wants as president.
• He intentionally violates all conventional and constitutional norms of any leader of the Executive Branch.

Before Trump was elected, if anyone would have described his behavior and actions in this way, that person would have been presumed to be crazy. Not so much, it turns out.

So, to repeat the quote, “any messaging the White House puts out is as useful as lighthouse in Kansas.”