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.

The current coronavirus pandemic is proving one thing when it comes to political leadership in this country.

We need experienced, seasoned leaders who will know how to strike a very tough balance, which is to marshal the twin necessities of truth and candor.

Frankly, the narcissist in the Oval Office possesses neither.

He looks out for himself and only himself and not the country.

Washington Post columnist Michael Gerson put it very well when he wrote this:

“The point here is not simply to condemn Trump, which has limited usefulness in the midst of a national crisis. At this point, it is perhaps better to ignore him, which is precisely what governors and mayors across the country are doing to good effect. But Americans do need to recall this moment the next time they enter a voting booth. In nominating and electing Trump, Republicans were making the claim that presidential character matters for nothing. That only his policy views and judicial appointments really count in the end.

“It was impossible to elect Trump without mentally shrinking the presidency to fit him. A president, we were told, didn’t really need to have governing experience. He didn’t need to care about the truth. He didn’t need to be civil or unifying. He didn’t need to be a diplomat. He didn’t need to be a pastor.

“But suddenly, governing skill is the antidote to panic. Trust in the truthfulness of public officials is essential to public health. Unified action is central to the safety of the vulnerable. Global cooperation is necessary for any national strategy to work. And leadership will increasingly require the ability to express empathy and to comfort those dealing with inexplicable loss.

“It has recently been common in our politics to assert that the establishment has failed, that our institutions and systems are corrupt, and that we need political disrupters to shake things up or burn things down. This is now revealed as the political philosophy of spoiled children. We no longer have the luxury of apocalyptic petulance or the language of faux revolution. We need trusted experts to carry hard truths. We need our systems and institutions to bear enormous weight. We need public officials to encourage an orderly urgency, to repair what is broken and to calm irrational fears.”

Well said, Mr. Gerson.

Trump can be faulted for his actions and his words in response to the pandemic. Clearly, actions are more important than words. But, in terms of words, it does not boost confidence when there is a president who cannot string words together in a sentence that makes sense. Plus, he has a very limited vocabulary.

As all of this unfolds, who knows what the future holds? No one.

We have never been through something like the coronavirus before and we have no idea when the outbreak will end or what price it will take to get to the end. Nor do we know whether so-called “shelter in place” orders will expand past California and New York and what “shelter in place” means is, itself, confusing.

What we do know is that it will take enlightened leadership to deal with the current and coming realities. It also will take what I call “enlightened followership” because, without followers, there are no leaders.

I am looking for enlightened leadership so I can follow it.