GOP debate: What was John Kasich thinking?
Does John Kasich have a strategic plan, and if he does, what is it?
Those are questions that ran through our head every time Ohio Governor Kasich got rolling during the Republican debate at the Ronald Reagan library near Los Angeles on Wednesday night.
He spoke well, so this isn鈥檛 a comment on his particular debate performance. It鈥檚 just that he seemed like such an outlier. Every pundit agrees that this is the GOP cycle of the outsider, with nonpoliticians Donald Trump and Ben Carson now combining for more than 50 percent of Republican voter support in polls. Former CEO Carly Fiorina is rising. Yet Kasich went out of his way to boast of insider status.
In an era when the GOP rank and file appears suspicious of politicians in general and Washington politicians in particular, Kasich went so far as to remind the debate audience that he鈥檇 been a member of Congress, and a committee chair at that. This was no accident. In his 30-second introduction, which was presumably preplanned, Kasich gestured at the retired Air Force One that served as the debate鈥檚 backdrop.
鈥淚 think I actually flew on this plane with Ronald Reagan when I was a congressman, and his goals, and mine ... are pretty much the same,鈥� he said.
Way to remind the audience you鈥檙e a career politician, John.
Kasich didn鈥檛 get a lot of question time in this debate. He managed to speak for 9-1/2 minutes, according to . That鈥� s about half the time Mr. Trump spent speaking.
When he did speak, he disagreed with points made by the more conservative candidates in the 11-person crowd. He said that promising to rip up the Iran agreement on Day 1 of a presidency is a sign of political inexperience, for instance. He maintained that the United States is stronger when it works with allies, and they wouldn鈥檛 approve of such a move.
鈥淚 served on the defense committee for 18 years. I鈥檝e seen lots of issues in foreign affairs, and ... in terms of global politics, you have to be steady,鈥� Kasich said.
Nor did he approve of shutting down the government in an effort to cut off federal funds for Planned Parenthood. From a tactical point of view, he said, that just wouldn鈥檛 work.
He insisted he knew what he was talking about. 鈥淚 was in the Congress for 18 years, balanced the budget, cut taxes, got it done,鈥� he said.
Kasich鈥檚 problem is that many GOP primary voters think 18 years in Congress is a bad thing, not something to be proud of. Furthermore, the right thinks Kasich is a moderate, 2016鈥檚 version of Jon Huntsman.
鈥淎round the country, John Kasich鈥檚 core support is made up of tax hiking politicians, social liberals, and failures,鈥� conservative pundit Erick Erickson on Thursday morning.
What鈥檚 Kasich up to? It appears that as much as any other candidate, he鈥檚 put all his hopes in one electoral basket. He鈥檚 all in for New Hampshire, a state where moderate Republicans still exist and voters might value experience and expedience as much as ideological purity.
His strategy might be summarized as 鈥渄o well in New Hampshire, and then stand ready to step in as the establishment鈥檚 choice if Jeb Bush collapses.鈥�
But Mr. Bush is trying hard to portray himself as a conservative. He did so again on Wednesday night. Kasich doesn鈥檛 seem to be emphasizing that part of the equation.
鈥淎s for Kasich, he is running a campaign that is assuming the NH GOP electorate exists outside of NH. It鈥檚 a gamble,鈥� NBC News political director Chuck Todd following the debate.
The Ohio governor himself said he鈥檚 happy with the way the debate turned out. He told The Columbus Dispatch that he wishes he鈥檇 had more airtime, but that his emphasis on town hall meetings in New Hampshire will matter more, in the end.
And he is outperforming his national polls in New Hampshire. He鈥檚 currently third in the Granite State with 10.3 percent of the vote, behind Trump and Dr. Carson, according to the RealClearPolitics rolling average of major surveys.
Nationally, Kasich is counting on GOP voters tiring of insults and entertainers and turning toward actual experienced politicians who know how to make government work.
鈥淗ere鈥檚 the bottom line for me: At the end of it all, people want to know if somebody can land the plane,鈥� the Dispatch鈥檚 Darrel Rowland. 鈥淭hey can have all this talk, but they want to know the plane can be landed.鈥�
