As I observed in a late April column, I expected Kasich, who was not yet in the race at that point, to run as a conservative outsider who would fight for the middle class but also stress the need for his party to be compassionate and caring.
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“I’m so exhausted of all of this nonsense”.
Kasich drew a contrast between himself and GOP front-runner Donald Trump, the New York billionaire real estate developer, and predicted Midwesterners will look for someone with political accomplishments when the field narrows later in the primary campaign. He’d been using marriage for instance of how he’d compromise, despite intently held principles.
“John Kasich, you are probably one of the better GOP Establishment candidates”.
“He worked with me – a Democrat”, Sweat said.
Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who seeks the Democratic nomination, exhorted the crowd via a video feed: “Let’s treat each other respectfully, and let’s not try to demonize people who disagree with us”. Mr. Kasich was caught telling an audience member at a meeting in his adopted State of New Hampshire that he would “get over” cuts to Social Security.
Roberta Paine of Keene, N.H., said she’s looking for candidates who are honest, straight-talking, civil and reasonable.
“You got to build this thing from the bottom up”. But liberal groups circulated the remark, crying foul.
In terms of a path for the nomination, the demise of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, whom I regarded as a problem for Kasich back in April, removes the other Midwest governor from the race. But in his quest for the presidency, his propensity for making jokes that turn into headlines has raised questions about his suitability for the nation’s highest office.
“Everyone wants an authentic candidate until they have one”, he said later Tuesday, during an interview with three Ohio reporters as his campaign bus motored through New Hampshire’s White Mountains. “We’re not a parliamentary system like they have in England”.
“It happens all the time”, Kasich acknowledged, calling the incidents “minor flashes”.
“Right now, I think we ‘re in the kind of ‘American Idol, ‘ maybe, quarterfinals and ultimately it gets down to fewer”, he said.
In a few ways, Kasich said, the attention is a positive sign for his presidential campaign.
“Wouldn’t you rather see people work together and be happier and more pleasant and more respectful of one another?” he said.
“In this process, I have multiple people trying to hurt me”. Woe unto him, as Mr. Kasich, whose net worth is upwards of $22 million not including his anticipated bounty in future Social Security payments, said, “Well, you’d get over it, and you’re going to have to get over it”.
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“I think the biggest issue is always the pocketbook, the economics”.
