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.

At least “airlift” is what I like to call what is happening, though that could be too big a word.

What President Joe Biden announced yesterday was that a major effort was under way to rescue Americans and their allies still in Afghanistan now under Taliban rule.

Will this action correct Biden’s mistakes and those of his Administration?  I doubt it.  I suspect the gross misjudgments about ending the Afghanistan war will dog Biden for the rest of his Administration, however long that turns out to be.

Does what has happened over the last couple days mean that Biden read a column by Peggy Noonan that appears in the Wall Street Journal?  Again, I doubt it.

But Biden appears to be doing almost exactly what Noonan advocates.  In very strong words late last week, she urged Biden to undertake a massive airlift.  Here are a few excerpts that appeared under this headline:

 What Biden Can Still Save in Afghanistan

His careless withdrawal stranded thousands of U.S. citizens and an untold number of local allies.

“The president’s speech Monday was what everyone called it, defiant. What was needed was a distanced kindliness—patience, an acknowledgment of the mess that was unfolding, an explanation of a way through, a reiteration of the soundness of the larger vision.  Instead, blame shifting, finger pointing, and defensive claims of higher wisdom.

“He “inherited a deal” from his predecessor.  Sure, things “did unfold more quickly than we had anticipated,” but that only “reinforced” his conviction that he’d made “the right decision.”  He’d told Afghanistan’s president to prepare for civil war, clean up corruption, unite politically.

“They failed to do any of that.”  There was no admission of mistakes or misjudgments.  “I stand squarely by my decision. . . . We were clear-eyed about the risks.  We planned for every contingency. . . . I’ve worked on these issues as long as anyone.”  Unlike others he sees the big picture. “ I will not repeat the mistakes we’ve made in the past.”

“What America needed was wise and stoic Lincoln after First Bull Run. What we got was more late-season Junior Soprano telling Tony and the boys they don’t have the vision and guts anymore. “

Noonan also recalled another military debacle – the World War II loss at Dunkirk – which became a story of heroic action to save British soldiers stranded on the beach in France.  Boats of all kinds crossed the British Channel to rescue the soldiers – which is interesting because, if you recall stories of this event, you will hear mostly he rescue, not the events leading  up to it.

Beyond Noonan’s column, lawmakers from both parties and chambers said that the military, foreign service and immigration systems needed to cut processing restrictions that have hampered entry to the airport, follow through on a new law broadening eligibility for the program, expand security to enable travel to the airport, and commit to staying in the country until vulnerable Afghans—and not just Americans—are evacuated.

Of course, it’s easy as a lawmaker to issue a press release and call for something, with no responsibility to implement that something.

But, for Biden, doing something heroic strikes me as what the country needs at this moment.  We need news of a massive airlift, not more repeated images of persons flying off airplanes as they try to get out of the country.

More from Noonan.

“What can be done?  I would say that when history turns dark, it can help to astound yourself and see the romance in it.  History, after all, is the story of mankind:  There’s a lot of derring-do in there, sacrifice too, even some high-mindedness.

“The only right political path now is the humane one. It’s also the path to at least some partial redemption.  Biden should see that his job now is saving the lives of Americans in Afghanistan and their friends in a major and declared rescue operation.  If that means embarrassing himself temporarily by reversing decisions, then so be it.  Humility never killed anyone.”

For me, all of this far away picture became clearer this week when my wife, Nancy, learned that a large Afghan family of refugees – a mother, a father, and 10 children – were heading to be re-located in Salem.  Yes, Salem, Oregon!

That sparked my wife’s effort to do what she already was doing for other refugees, which is to help the organization called Salem For Refugees re-settle immigrants here.  That means donations of food, clothing, bedding , furniture and other essentials.

If you find a way to see immigrants – be they from Afghanistan, the Congo of anywhere else – as real people, you will have done yourself a substantial service.  You will divorce yourself from all of the political rhetoric about the “immigration problem,” especially the disinformation so prevalent on social media sites, and see people for what they really are – people.

So, I hope and pray that the Afghanistan airlift works.  Real lives of real people depend on it.