Perspective from the 19^th Hole 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 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.

Yesterday I posted excerpts from a column in the New York Times by Nicholas Kristof, the writer who has connections in and around Oregon.

He wrote about ways to oppose an autocrat like Donald Trump.

Today, in part two, Kristof adds perspective about how vulnerable Trump is despite his claims always to be the smartest person in the room – or everywhere.

So, here are excerpts from Kristof’s column that appeared under this headline:  Trump Is Immensely Vulnerable.  The column started this way:

“How can Americans best defend their democracy from their president?

“In my last column, I recounted three lessons from other countries where popular movements have made headway challenging authoritarian rulers.  Critics of Trump have frankly been fairly ineffective — witness his election and the way his approval ratings have risen in some polls lately — but Trump does give us a great deal to work with.

“He is immensely vulnerable.

“Drawing upon these lessons from my last column, here are what I see as the most promising lines of attack for his critics:

• Trump is deeply corrupt.  All presidents are accused of shady practices, but Trump is a felon who is using his office to enrich himself as no president has in history.

“The Times reported that more than $2 billion has flowed to Trump companies in just a month, and some of his ventures look alarmingly like opportunities for influence-peddling.  How else do we explain his announcement that the biggest investors in his new cryptocurrency memecoin, $TRUMP, would get dinner with him? “

• Trump is hurting you in the pocketbook.  One reason Trump won the presidency was voter resentment at inflation and economic weakness under Joe Biden.  Now it’s Trump who is badly damaging the economy and hitting voters in the wallet.

“Trump’s tariffs amount to the largest tax increase for Americans since 1993, with one study suggesting that a typical household may pay an extra $1,400 per year.  Trump may already have sent the economy spinning into a recession and plans for huge increases in American debt are pushing interest rates upward — which for many Americans means putting off any hope of buying a home.”

• Trump looks down on you and thinks he can manipulate you.

“Several studies have found that warning teenagers that smoking may kill them is often not effective.  What does work is showing them how tobacco companies are trying to deceive and manipulate them.  That outrages them — and in the same way, MAGA voters may shrug at Trump’s defiance of the courts but be offended by evidence that he thinks they are dummies.”

Moving beyond specifics, Kristof adds that one lesson from other countries is the importance of finding a compelling individual story to make a point.  Democrats too often cite large numbers — the 70 million Americans depend on Medicaid — rather than leaning on storytelling about individual tragedies.

And, in conclusion, he adds:  “However appalling Trump’s own behavior may be, his critics have to show that they can not only mock him — but can also govern.  If we are to hold Trump accountable, we must also hold ourselves accountable.”

Kristof’s points make sense to me, especially the one about storytelling. 

Back when I lobbied in Oregon for more money for Medicaid, which serves the health care needs pof the low-income population, we used stories featuring doctors, nurses, and patients to deliver advocacy.

The point wasn’t big numbers.  It was real stories that could strike a chord with legislators at the Capitol in Oregon.

It worked here back in the day and it a good lesson – inspired by Kristof’s writing – to learn again against Trump.