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 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 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.

Every time I see a new editorial endorsement for a major political candidate, I wonder if such endorsements matter.

I suppose the answer is yes and no. Or, perhaps the effect is in the eye of the beholder.

I know my wife sometimes pays attention to endorsements on the theory – at least true in part — that those who write the endorsements have more time to study the issues or personalities involved and, thus, what they advocate is important.

On the other hand, endorsements may either be predictable on the basis of the political slant of the endorser.

I also know many people who ignore endorsements unless they coincide with their own pre-conceived views.

All of this came back to me this week as I noted that the Oregonian newspaper went against predictability when it endorsed Republican Knute Buehler for governor in his race against the incumbent, Democrat Kate Brown. The Oregonian often sides with Democrats in high-profile contests.

That also wasn’t the case a few years ago when the Oregonian surprised many readers by endorsing the Republican in the governor’s race, Ron Saxton. That irritated Democrats who protested the Oregonian’s decision. In the end, the endorsement didn’t matter. Democrat John Kitzhaber won.

As a person who has been involved in many election races in the past, I think editorial endorsements have at least two results.

First, if you get the endorsement, you are happy because you wanted it. So, you turn around and use the favorable language in political advertising, thus suggesting that a third-party thinks you are credible and should win.

Second, if you do not get the endorsement, you also use that to your advantage. You use the slight to energize your advocates to be even more heavily invested in your campaign. In other words, prod those who support you to be mad about the endorsement so they work harder on your behalf.

So, if you are running for election, do you want editorial endorsements? Yes. But getting them is no guarantee of success.