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 headline in this blog proposes what I hope will be true.

The moment when Donald Trump advocated people ingesting poisonous cleaners to rid themselves of the coronavirus may stand at the beginning of the end for Trump.

At least that’s what Washington Post columnist Michael Gerson posits this morning.

Here is how he put it:

“President Trump’s April 23 White House briefing — in which he proposed a novel coronavirus research agenda of injected or ingested disinfectants — may be remembered as the moment his schtick finally failed.

“Of course, there have been plenty of other examples of arrogant ignorance. Trump has made a career of career-ending gaffes. After each, he has picked himself up, dusted himself off, and embraced idiocy with renewed dedication and enthusiasm.”

Over the last three years, I’ve heard a lot of words used to describe Trump, who stands, for me, as the worst president in this country’s history. But, Gerson’s column uses a new one – “schitick.”

The dictionary defines the word: “a routine or piece of business inserted to gain a laugh or draw attention to oneself.”

Sounds exactly like Trump.

I have used a lot of words to describe himn, including “buffoon,” which is how he acts as president.

I also have said that Trump fails any test of political leadership, which I have described as involving such credentials as (a) integrity, (b) accountability, (c) ability to compromise (for the public good), (d) ability to communicate (including words in a sentence that make sense), (e) empathy, and (f) humility.

On all counts, Trump fails.

So, with Gerson, I hope Trump’s “schtick finally fails.”