John Kasich is still governor, isn’t he?
running. Williams asked the governor whether he would be a candidate in 2020. Kasich answered: “I don’t know.” Fair enough, given the accelerated pace and turn of events. Yet the governor also made plain: “All my options are on the table.”
On Friday afternoon, a press release arrived from “Team Kasich” highlighting the national news shows on which he would appear this weekend. This is the vehicle for maintaining the profile and improving communication skills. “Tune in!” the subject line urged.
The shows are eager to see him. The governor has carved a niche, the voice of the former Republican Party ready to challenge President Trump and his somewhat hostile takeover. This is a valuable role to play. Kasich defends free trade, fiscal discipline and the traditional place of American diplomacy, working with others and defending human rights.
The governor adds his element of compassion. He recently joined a bipartisan group of governors in support of continued protection for those with pre-existing health conditions. The Trump White House no longer will defend the policy.
On the matter of separating immigrant families at the border, the governor has been vehement. “Insane” and “ridiculous,” he told Brian Williams, noting: “This is not the America you and I have known throughout our lifetimes.”
Kasich embraces Dreamers, those young immigrants brought here illegally by their parents when they were children. “They violated no law,” the governor reasoned on CBS’ "Face the Nation." “They are innocent people … who are great contributors. … They’re part of our fabric.”
That "Face the Nation" interview was telling. Margaret Brennan tried to bring the conversation around to Ohio (and the effects of trade battles). Kasich wanted to keep the discussion more national.
Which gets to something missing in the appearances, the question that doesn’t get asked: Governor, just how do you have so much time? Or: Don’t you have a state to run?
Kasich hardly is the first to use the governor’s office to gain a national platform. He has run for president. Twice! Yet the state also has pressing matters in which an engaged governor could play a helpful part.
Take the current legislative wrangling over regulation of payday lenders, the job still unfinished a decade after Ohio voters sided with strong restrictions on the industry. Republicans are divided. Where does the governor stand?
Republicans must contend with a scandal flowing from years of lax oversight concerning online charter schools. Lawmakers are beginning to craft legislation designed to improve funding, accountability and transparency. This seems ripe for the leadership a governor can provide.
The governor did put together a set of sensible gun regulations in the wake of the deadly mass shootings in Las Vegas and Parkland, Florida. The package deserves passage. It figures that Republican lawmakers are reluctant in view of the powerful gun lobby. Yet it also is hard to shake the impression that the governor is paying a price for his absence, or at least the absence of necessary relationships with lawmakers, many irritated with his stance on the president.
On "Face the Nation," the governor jabbed the president for pulling out of the Paris climate agreement. At home, he has shown too little concern for Ohio losing nearly all of its clean energy with the closing of its nuclear power plants.
Kasich has been thinking about his legacy. At a recent press conference, he talked about the Medicaid expansion, the $2 billion rainy day fund and JobsOhio, his privatized economic development office. Each offers fodder for a healthy argument, along with the jobs numbers he touts.
What also belongs in the discussion are the final three years. Yes, with today’s wiring, a traveling governor can stay close. Yet John Kasich has chosen to go national, inviting thoughts about the opportunity missed to show what his brand of centrism could achieve here.