Face it. When Republican John Kasich ran for President in 2000, he was just another member of the House of Representatives. In a Dispatch commentary, Joe Hallett says that Kasich would be happy with one term as governor. I find that hard to believe. Even though Kasich claims that he has no ambition to run for President again, there is a lot of speculation that he indeed wants to try for the White House, and that he'd use the governorship as a stepping stone to a national campaign. Kasich has always been a very ambitious person, and very obnoxious.
Hallett also writes this in the Dispatch:
....But it is Kasich's cocksure nature, his arrogance that he and his team have all the answers that is worrisome. Fear of the voters has a tempering effect, and a good portion of them could be ignored by Kasich if he doesn't care about a second term. Balancing the next budget should involve a humanely measured blend of service cuts, revenue raisers and government reforms. Kasich has foreclosed one of those options by foolishly signing a no-new-tax pledge. If Kasich depends mainly on deep cuts, he could risk being perceived as indifferent to Ohioans' needs, including adequate public safety and education.....
When Kasich was in Congress, the cuts that he tried to make were those that would have hurt the poor, the middle class,the elderly, and college students. Kasich's plan back then was to make those cuts to programs, but to then get tax cuts for the rich. Kasich's lack of empathy was evident then and it is evident now. Sure he'd make cuts to the state programs, but what groups would suffer the most---- school children, state employees' families, the working poor, college students, etc.
Has anyone heard Kasich offer remorse for the millions of dollars of losses that the state pension funds had after he laid the groundwork for them to invest with Lehman Brothers?
