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 is what I long for in both politics and golf.  The middle ground is often where the best public policy decisions lie.  And it is where you want to be on a golf course.

Republicans appear flummoxed by President Joe Biden.

They don’t know how to attack him, even though attacking is what they do best, so they should be good at it.

Hill.com made the same point in a piece that appeared on-line yesterday.  Here is how it started:

“Biden is proving to be an elusive cipher for Republicans to successfully message against nearly 100 days into his Administration, keeping a relatively low profile and refusing to engage in the day-to-day verbal sparring that has consumed Washington in recent years. 

“It presents a challenge that, GOP senators acknowledge, they aren’t hitting the mark on.”

The #2 senator among Republicans, John Thune, put it this way:

“We need to get better at it.  I don’t think sometimes our messaging is as sharp as it should be because a lot of the things they’re doing are things that are popular —when you’re spending money — you’re popular.”

For me, it’s not just spending money that makes Biden popular.

It’s also his style of acting like a real president, which is very different than his predecessor.  Donald Trump made headlines every day by criticizing everyone and everything that wasn’t him, which is just what an accomplished narcissist would do.

But Biden has spent decades building his reputation as an affable dealmaker who came up through the party’s centrist wing.  During the 2020 campaign, he talked up his relationship with Republicans and hoped that, after left office, the “fever” would break.

His bi-partisan rhetoric has continued in the White House, with the Administration reaching out to GOP lawmakers through private phone calls and publicly disclosed Oval Office meetings.

Republicans, however, view the rhetoric as out-of-touch with how he’s governing, pointing to invites to the White House that don’t result in actual policy changes that move toward the GOP. 

Republicans also are betting that voters will ultimately turn against Biden’s trillion-dollar spending.

“His tone is moderate and he’s an affable person, he’s a likeable individual and a lot of us know him, have relationships with him and it’s probably harder to attack somebody who is relatable and likeable,” Thune told Hill.com. 

But, he added, “If he continues down the left, the far-left lane, with respect to policy, that eventually that will start to catch up with him.” 

That isn’t panning out for Republicans so far, with Biden winning praise on both style and substance from the right as recently as this week.

For one thing, Republicans were quick to back new sanctions the Administration announced against Russia.  For another, Biden’s speech at the memorial for a Capitol Police officer killed this month earned him praise even from Fox News, where the reporter called him “iconic” for delivering “kindness and empathy.”

So, Biden’s “nice guy” reputation and moderate tone have helped insulate him politically and could continue to do so, though he faces huge challenges that will test his popularity, including the Southern border crisis, the continuing pandemic, and challenges from China and Russia.

Republicans also are having a hard time understanding how Biden’s approval ratings have held so steady since he took office in January. 

A Pew Research Center poll released last week put Biden’s approval at 59 per cent, up from 54 per cent in the Center’s March survey.  Forty-six per cent of Americans also said they liked how Biden “conducts himself as president,” compared to 27 per cent who don’t.  Forty-four per cent believe he has improved the political debate.

So, the foregoing illustrates that, with all challenges, Biden is doing well in his first 100 days. 

For my part, I wish he would end up looking more open to Republican entreaties, including on the size of the spending he proposes, as well as how to pay for it.  But being open requires Republican’s to come to the Administration with other than just the “no” answer.  They ought to offer proposals that have some chance to fly, given that they are dealing with an individual who was elected president to lead the Executive Branch.

At base, I am just relieved that we now have a president who acts like a president, instead of like a carnival barker. 

Biden will have to up his game when it comes to bi-partisan actions, but his history and style gives me confidence that he can do so.