I thought this might happen, even predicted it, but I always feel a happy twinge of surprise when I’m right. Trump is being molded into a semi-conventional candidate by his handlers right before our eyes, and by the pride-crushing demands of the campaign trail. It’s turning him into what he was supposed to abhor — a politician.

I’ve seen this before. But on a smaller scale. A businessman or other professional gets tired of watching the clowns and decides to jump into a political race to show them how it’s done. Within a few months, he sounds just like everyone else, although usually not as good.

Politics can be humbling, and getting elected to public office is a lot harder than it looks. Those clowns work unimaginable hours. Eighteen-hour days are the norm, seven days a week. Every minute in a good campaign is accounted for: If you’re not meeting voters, you’re dialing for dollars or doing radio hits or getting briefed for the next campaign stop. And everywhere you go — every rally, ever diner stop, every door step — you have to be on your “A” game, mentally and emotionally. Tired is no excuse. Make one mistake in a media interview and it can take your campaign weeks to get back on message, if ever.