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.

That question – character vs. policy – has been one of the issues dominating news coverage of the just-concluded Democrat National Convention.

It is an important question for all of us who will vote this fall.

My view:  I will emphasize character every time.

For, if you, as a presidential candidate, lack character, that will influence every action you take on policy.  Meaning that actions will reflect selfishness and narcissism, not the good of the country.

To see the reality of self-dealing, look only so far as Donald Trump.

As he accepted the Democrat nomination for president, Joe Biden said this:

“The current president has cloaked America in darkness for much too long. Too much anger, too much fear, too much division.  Here and now, I give you my word:  If you entrust me with the presidency, I will draw on the best of us, not the worst. I’ll be an ally of the light, not the darkness.”

Then to close his acceptance speech, Biden quoted a favorite Irish poet, Seamus Heaney:

“This is our moment to ‘make hope and history rhyme.’”

Now, in response to this enlightened view of the potential and possibilities of a united America, guess what Trump said?

“If you want a vision of your life under a Biden presidency, think of the smoldering ruins in Minneapolis, the violent anarchy of Portland, the bloodstained sidewalks of Chicago.  And imagine the mayhem coming to your town and every single town in America.”

No indication from Trump that he has any feeling or empathy for the plight of Black America.  To be sure, demonstrations in places like Chicago, Minneapolis and Portland have gone much too far as extremists use the venues to break law.  But the concerns of Black America are still worth considering, especially if, by position, you are a political leader.

Overall, Biden’s case to be president is as much about HOW he wants to govern as it is about WHAT he wants to accomplish.

Washington Post editorial writers put it this way:

“It is easier in today’s climate to play the zealot than to look for the best in one’s opponents.  Coalition-building wins few adherents on Twitter and rarely makes for exciting television.  But it gets things done.  And in contrast to Trump’s strategy to divide, deny and despoil, Biden’s invitation to all Americans to join in a more hopeful vision represents welcome and dramatic change.”

And, from Biden as he closed his acceptance speech:

“The current president has cloaked America in darkness for much too long. Too much anger. Too much fear. Too much division.  Here and now, I give you my word — if you entrust me with the presidency, I will draw on the best of us, not the worst. I will be an ally of the light, not the darkness.  We will choose hope over fear, facts over fiction, fairness over privilege.”

As for me, that’s why I will choose character this fall.