[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 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 an Oregon state government manager and a private sector lobbyist. This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing pubic policy – to what I write. If you are reading this, thanks for doing so and please don’t hesitate to respond so we can engage in a dialogue, not just a monologue.]

It used to be that anyone running for office would worry about his or her reputation.

• Was there some past misdeed that would come back to haunt the candidate?

• Could the candidate avoid the gaffe that would put him or her under fire for weeks?

• Could a candidate concentrate on being for something without engaging in personal attacks?

Well, for those enamored with Donald Trump, the very nature of politics has changed.

Go no farther than considering this description of Trump authored by New York Times columnist Frank Bruni in a piece about Trump’s supposed appeal to parts of the so-called “religious right:”

“Let me get this straight. If I want the admiration and blessings of the most flamboyant, judgmental Christians in America, I should marry three times, do a queasy-making amount of sexual boasting, verbally degrade women, talk trash about pretty much everyone else while I’m at it, encourage gamblers to hemorrhage their savings in casinos bearing my name and crow incessantly about how much money I’ve amassed?”

In the past, some of those in politics have acted as if any mention of their name in the media, even in a negative story, was better than not being mentioned at all. For Trump, he has taken this to an entirely new level.

As someone who values a positive reputation and an ability to engage in respectful political discourse, Trump’s run for the Republican nomination for president leaves me cold. It also raises the specter that political campaigns have changed – and for the worse.

In a Wall Street Journal piece a week ago, author Andy Kessler provided the following summary of Trump’s success, which he called “Trumponomics in 10 Easy Steps:”

1. Be born rich.
2. Own politicians.
3. Get tax breaks.
4. Monetize addiction. “Protected cash flow from apartments and office space is nice, and the Trump name attracts tenants willing to blow cash. But there must be another way to extract money from people. Fortunately, gambling became legal in New Jersey in 1976. Voilà: Harrah’s at Trump Plaza opened in 1984 and quickly shortened its name to Trump Plaza (hey, it was the ’80s, and the name said classy to high rollers).”
5. Go in debt up to our eyeballs.
6. Stick banks and bondholders with disasters, (as Trump has done by declaring bankruptcy more than once).
7. Churn out books. “Pop business books are often like tomes from Deepak Chopra, Eckhart Tolle or other gurus. You read them in a flash, feel inspired for 24 hours and then days later can’t recall a single worthwhile syllable. Mr. Trump mastered this art: “Trump: Think Like a Billionaire” (2004); “Trump 101: The Way to Success” (2006); “Midas Touch” (2011). It’s hard to find anyone who profited from these books, other than the guy with the I’m-a-serious-thinker expression on the cover.”
8. Franchise your name.
9. Channel your inner Kim Kardashian. “With so many Trump properties and golf courses and “The Apprentice” television show, it’s hard for most people to remember how Donald Trump got so rich in the first place. In the Kardashian and Nicky Hilton tradition, Mr. Trump is now famous because he is famous.”
10. Run for office. His presidential aspirations seem to be a vanity run gone wild.

All of this sickens me, as does Trump. He is a buffoon who has no business running for office with his sordid reputation, his pandering approach to women, and his outsize ego where he is always the most important person in the room no matter what he says or does.

My view is that no one should pay any attention to him. We need real people, with real pasts who will run for office with a real approach to recommend how to solve real problems.

Not Trump.