TIME:
....Romney and Pawlenty have their eyes squarely on the 2012 nomination, with active travel and media schedules and plans to campaign as Republican candidates in the midterms, they are well behind past early starters in establishing presidential operations. John Edwards, for example, launched his aggressive run shortly after Bush won re-election in 2004, heading immediately to first-in-the-nation voting states, planting stakes in Iowa, seeking key endorsements and carving out policy areas like his pet theme of poverty. There has been no comparable activity this cycle, suggesting a certain ambivalence within the potential Republican field. Romney made his first visit to Iowa in March, as part of his book tour, and Pawlenty has barely touched ground in the early battlegrounds.
Meanwhile, the other most talked-about Republican names — Sarah Palin, Mike Huckabee and Newt Gingrich — are cannily leaving the door open for a run, but are spending far more time on personal profitmaking enterprises than presidential campaign foundation building. And Republican élites are just as ambivalent about this trio. Palin, Huckabee and Gingrich may boast charisma and obvious appeal, but each are saddled with their own mess of flaws and failings that render them for now decidedly questionable challengers to Obama.
The quiet, intense search for a stronger alternative extends far and wide, and includes four subjects of a recent column — former Florida governor Jeb Bush, incumbent governors Haley Barbour of Mississippi and Mitch Daniels of Indiana, and John Kasich, who is in the midst of his 2010 bid for governor of Ohio. All have thought about running for the White House during their careers, but none have committed to make the 2012 race — yet....
What if Kasich were elected Ohio Governor and yet decides to campaign for President again? How many other people are pushing Kasich to run in 2012. Is Kasich just using his run for governor to further a national campaign?
>>>>>> Kasich must have really been a high rolling Wall Streeter. According to Ohio.com, the former Lehman Brothers director, "....Kasich was paid $614,892, which included a base salary of $182,692 and more than twice that amount in a bonus, $432,200....."
Since I've only held teaching jobs and some hourly pay jobs, I've never had the luxury of getting a bonus. Besides, who gets a bonus of $432,200? That is really over the top?
