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 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, 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.

As Donald Trump ran for and then became president, he relied on a catch-phrase – ‘Let’s Make America Great Again.’

Well, in the last three-plus years, the goal has not been achieved.

It’s Trump First, not America first.

Trump has made himself “first” by selling out America to those who would do his bidding, as well as to international despots who would give him what he wanted in return, which is personal aggrandizement.

In another column this week, Washington Post writer Dana Milbank made this point in substantial and excruciating detail.

“At the core of the impeachment inquiry — indeed, at the core of almost every complaint about this president, Milbank wrote, “is one simple truth: Donald Trump is not a patriot.

“I don’t question that on some level he loves his country. I just know that he loves himself more. Again and again, he has harmed the nation’s interests to further his own.”

The most recent example is when Trump appealed to a leader in Ukraine to dig up direct on Democrat presidential candidate, Joe Biden. That, in turn, sparked the current impeachment inquiry in the U.S. House, which Trump believes illustrates a “coup” against his presidency, though recent polls indicate that Americans may be changing their view to something along this line – it’s time for the impeachment process to go forward.

And, now this – impeachment is not a conviction. It is essentially an indictment, which means that Trump will have to defend himself even as the scope of his misdeeds widen. As that happens, it is likely that it will become more and more difficult even for Republicans to justify the president’s conduct.

If Ukraine wasn’t enough, Trump doubled down by asking China to engage in a Biden investigation – and did so in public, thus appearing to indicate that he is above any rational law.

According to Milbank, “Geopolitical archrival China, fighting us in a trade war, now knows that, to secure good relations with the U.S. administration, it should produce dirt on Trump’s prospective Democratic opponent.

“That’s not in the national interest (it’s flatly against the law). It’s in Trump’s personal interest.”

Milbank makes other contentions about Trump using government powers for his own interests.

• Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, at Trump’s behest, revived an investigation into Hillary Clinton’s long ago e-mails.
• Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani spearheaded the effort to solicit political dirt from Ukraine.
• Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin ignored the law in refusing access to Trump’s tax returns, thus blocking Congress from knowing about Trump’s foreign entanglements.
• Trump has encouraged everybody from Vice President Michael Pence on down to patronize his resorts and is now seeking to host the Group of Seven at his Florida golf resort.
• Trump even pressured federal meteorological officials to rescind weather advice that contradicted his — much as he pressured the National Park Service to falsify inauguration attendance.

From Milbank:” “Trump has many undesirable attributes: He lies, he chases conspiracy theories, he’s racist, he abuses power, he’s cruel. The common thread — a unified theory of Trump, if you will — is that the man who promised an ‘America First’ agenda is instead pursuing a ‘Trump First’ agenda.”

Now, I repeat these points from Milbank, not because I agree with all he writes about Trump. I don’t. But, Milbank makes a solid point about what motivates Trump. It’s his own aggrandizement rather than anything good for the country.

A solid piece in USA Today yesterday was written by a Republican and a Democrat who said it is past time for an impeachment process to go forward.

“Trump should be impeached for abuse of his office, obstruction of justice, breaking campaign finance laws and violation of the Constitution’s emoluments clauses. The primary articles will bring into sharp relief that this president endangered the nation for his own self-serving purposes, while the emoluments charges should be a reminder of a sacred principle to which we seem to have somehow become numb: The president can never monetize his or her time in office.”

Put simply, Trump continues to perform as a narcissist.   So much so that we, as a nation, may not survive a second Trump term, So, I say, give us a chance in 2020 to elect someone better.