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 a Congressional press secretary in Washington, D.C., an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and 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.

To Donald Trump, we are learning that size matters.

But the size comment he made in the most recent Republican debate may apply – um – to his ego. He appears eager to indicate, by what he says and by what he does, that his ego is bigger than anything else.

His route to what looks like the nomination for Republican presidential candidate has turned politics on its head. He says whatever he wants to say, facts be damned. And, at least some of the people love it no matter what.

It used to matter that candidates might, on occasion, at least hew to the truth. For Trump, there is no truth. Truth is what he says it is.

It also used to be that candidates that would be careful what they said about prisoners of war, the opposite sex or the races. Not Trump. He criticizes all in the most insulting terms possible. And, then his poll numbers go up.

Consider these recent comments by political columnists who appear “trumped” by what they are seeing on the campaign trail:

From David Ignatius, Washington Post:

“The Trump brand is big and bold. It seeks to convey wealth and status. It’s boastful about itself and disdainful of rival products. It’s eclectic and scattershot (bottled water, furniture, ties, cuff links, golf courses). When it fails (three bankrupt casinos, a botched airline deal, an unsuccessful professional football team), it ignores or denies the negative facts and keeps on rolling.

“Nothing should be surprising about Trump at this point. For nine months, he has been saying the unsayable — and not just getting away with it, but becoming more popular. He’s a man with a talent for falling uphill, it seems.”

From Rich Lowry, National Journal:

“Almost as soon as Donald Trump is the presumptive GOP nominee — which may be as early as March 15 — Democrats will surely start to churn out their negative ads.

“They will attack Trump’s credentials as a tribune of the little guy by focusing on a money-grubbing venture like Trump University, designed to extract as much cash as possible from people who thought they would learn something from the shell of a school.

“They will dissect his business record. They will fasten on his failed casinos and the bankruptcies he used to stiff creditors while maintaining a lavish lifestyle.

“They will fry him for hypocrisy on immigration by pointing out that Trump Tower was built by illegal Polish immigrants worked to the bone and that, according to news reports, illegal immigrants are helping build his new hotel in Washington.

“They will make the cheap threats he throws at anyone who crosses him a character and temperament issue. They will hound him about his unreleased tax returns. And, of course, they will use decades-worth of controversial statements to portray him as racist and sexist.”

From George Will, Washington Post:

“Donald Trump’s distinctive rhetorical style — think of a drunk with a bullhorn reading aloud James Joyce’s “Finnegans Wake” under water — poses an almost insuperable challenge to people whose painful duty is to try to extract clarity from his effusions. For example, on Friday, during a long stream of semi-consciousness in Fort Worth, this man who as president would nominate members of the federal judiciary vowed to open up libel laws to make it easier to sue — to intimidate and punish — people who write “negative” things. Well.

“Trump, the thin-skinned tough guy, resembles a campus crybaby who has wandered out of his ‘safe space.’ It is not news that he has neither respect for nor knowledge of the Constitution, and he probably is unaware that he would have to “open up” many Supreme Court First Amendment rulings in order to achieve his aim. His obvious aim is to chill free speech, for the comfort of the political class, of which he is now a gaudy ornament.”

As these sample quotes illustrate, the best result for Hillary Clinton and the Democrats is for Trump to win the Republican nomination. That means they will go after him with a vengeance and it is clear that he has given the Ds a lot of ammunition for their guns.

Look at it this way. About 40 per cent of Americans can expected to vote automatically for Clinton. Another 40 per cent, incredibly, can be expected to vote for Trump.

That leaves the 20 per cent in the middle, a group that decides most elections in this country.

I cannot imagine many in this middle siding with Trump. Some will hold their noses and vote for Clinton as the lesser of two evils. After all, at least she does not conjure up images of Hitler in Germany as Trump does.

As for me, it won’t matter, but I will not stoop for casting my ballot for either Trump or Clinton. I’ll find someone else to vote for – and that person won’t be president, but at least I can live with myself.