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 (Les AuCoin), 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.  I could have called this blog “Middle Ground,” for that it what I long for in both politics and golf.  The middle ground is often where the best public policy decisions like.  And it is where you want to be on a golf course.

Given what is happening these days in this country, from the coronavirus to protests over the death of a Black man in the Midwest, there are many opportunities for including information in this department, one of several I run with a free hand to manage as I see fit.

So, the Department of “Just Saying” is open agai

WHERE IS THE SOLACE AND EMPATHY:  On any grid of government management skills, solace and empathy would reside near the top – or at least should reside there.

It’s a skill that is called for these days in response to the virus, the protests and a range of other issues.

“JUST SAYING” that President Donald Trump does not possess either solace or empathy.  He only exists to aggrandize himself and express hate for all others who don’t share his racist views.

This horrible reality was evident this week as Trump, apparently feeling compelled to speak without any preparation – as usual, l report – said he would call out the military to stop protests.

An option, one he would never choose, is to shut up.  Or, if he was a real leader, express statesmanship and empathy, not rhetoric that inflames the situation.

 A NEW POSE FOR THE MEDIA – AN HONEST EMBRACE OF BIAS:  Van Gordon Sauter, former president of CBS News, made this point in a recent article for the Wall Street Journal.

Here is how he wrote it:

“About 35 years ago I was sitting at lunch next to Jeane Kirkpatrick, a onetime Democrat who became a foreign-policy adviser to President Ronald Reagan and later U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.  She was lamenting what she called the ‘liberal leaning’ media.  As the president of CBS News, I assured her it was only a ‘liberal tilt’ and could be corrected.

“’You don’t understand,’ she scolded. ‘It’s too late.’

“Kirkpatrick was prophetic.  The highly influential daily newspapers in New York, Washington, Los Angeles and Boston are now decidedly liberal.  On the home screen, the three broadcast network divisions still have their liberal tilt. Two of the three leading cable news sources are unrelentingly liberal in their fear and loathing of President Donald Trump.

“News organizations that claim to be neutral have long been creeping leftward, and their loathing of Trump has accelerated the pace.  The news media is catching up with the liberalism of the professoriate, the entertainment industry, upscale magazines and the literary world.  Recent arrivals are the late-night TV hosts who have broken the boundaries of what was considered acceptable political humor for networks.

“To many journalists, objectivity, balance and fairness—once the gold standard of reporting—are not mandatory in a divided political era and in a country they believe to be severely flawed.  That assumption folds neatly into their assessment of the president.  To the journalists, including more than a few Republicans, he is a blatant vulgarian, an incessant prevaricator, and a dangerous leader who should be ousted next January, if not sooner.  Much of journalism has become the clarion voice of the ‘resistance,’ dedicated to ousting the president, even though he was legally elected and, according to the polls, enjoys

Sauter suggests that it would be delightful if a publisher, an editor, a reporter, would just say: Yes, I am left of center!  I’m proud of it.  I think our reporting is accurate.  It best serves the public. And the credibility of the media. So there!”

JUST SAYING that Sauter may be right.  Why not just admit bias and then, if you are a solid journalist – and the word “if” is important here – behave like it?  Report facts.  Provide context.  And, admit your position on the liberal-conservative scale, even as you strive for accuracy.

WHEN EPIDEMICS GIVE A VOICE TO THE FORGOTTEN:  The Wall Street Journal recently reported on a solid development in journalism and, yes, even social media, during the coronavirus.

The development is that real journalists report the plight of real people affected by the virus – stories of real people that give us a chance to express sympathy and empathy

As the Journal wrote it:  “Even as city streets have fallen silent in many parts of the Western world, the sound of urban voices has been growing louder.  Usa of Facebook, Instagram and Twitter has grown dramatically, and much of that traffic has been devoted to sharing ordinary people’s intimate stories of devotion, courage and tragedy.  Through social media, cities seem to be talking to themselves, and discovering themselves, in a new way.”

JUST SAYING that solid newspaper journalism, such as that employed by the Wall Street Journal on the right and the Washington Post on the left, also provides a way to hear lessons from the poor and disadvantaged as all of us contend with the pandemic.

So, I say, read the solid journalism wherever it is practiced – and that means, for one thing, you should avoid Twitter traffic promulgated by the “what’s his name as president.”

AMAZON’S PANDEMIC SUCCESS STORY:  So-called “progressives” and their allies continue to pan Amazon, but it is delivering at least some of what this country needs during the pandemic.

Here’s how Wall Street Journal writer Sean Higgins put it in a piece last month:

“There’s one bright spot in the dismal pandemic economy.  Amazon is trying something that no company has attempted before: Supplying the essential needs of 325 million Americans largely confined to their homes during a pandemic, while keeping its own workforce of more than 500,000 people safe. Yet, some politicians are trying to make it a scapegoat.

JUST SAYING there is no question but that Amazon has made mistakes in the impossible-to-manage coronavirus, but its overall performance should be complimented.

Deliveries continue and the Amazon workforce has persevered.  Plus, Amazon is hiring more than 100,000 new employees to keep operating full tilt.

Good for the company.