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.

A lot has been written lately – including by me – about the simplistic, narcissistic, ego-driven messages President Donald Trump has been conveying in the coronavirus pandemic which is continuing to haunt his presidency,

The risk, of course, is that what he says could lead to the deaths of individuals who take him at his word and, for example, ingest poisonous bleaches to clean the virus.

This time, however, I am going to posit some of the threads of messages any good president should be imparting in the midst of a national tragedy.

The main need is for a country’s leader to express hope for the future, even in the face of long odds. Doing something else only imparts confusion and dissension.

So, here is my quick list of important points to emphasize during a pandemic:

• Thank those working hard despite the risks of doing so in a pandemic.
• Express empathy for the families and loved ones of those who have passed.
• Advocate working together to solve incredibly difficult challenges – and that includes bi-partisan, middle-of-the-road political strategies.
• Tout scientific advances, but allow room for those to develop so they are not just quack theories.
• Yield at least some of the communications turf to experts who have credible backgrounds in finding solutions.

You may have your own list of points to emphasize, but it is so far true, unfortunately, that Trump has said all the wrong things due to his narcissistic impulses and lack of any overarching strategy – and using the word “strategy” in regard to Trump is inappropriate because he has none.

It’s time for a change – past time.