Gov. Kasich seems kinder, gentler

COLUMBUS

Does Gov. John Kasich really have a shot at winning the Republican nomination for the presidency?

It seems sort of farfetched at the moment, given Donald Trump’s front-runner status and potential path to the requisite number of delegates to become the party’s choice.

But the governor’s campaign has its own strategy in mind, and a contested convention could provide the avenue for Kasich to proceed to November.

As part of that strategy, Kasich has to become the anti-Trump — the level-headed, adult-in-the-room, policy-heavy “good guy” who can bring a sense of normalcy back to what’s been a crazy campaign.

The governor has indicated he plans to go on the offensive against Trump, calling out the billionaire businessman for his comments about women and for violence at his rallies.

In a series of social media posts a couple of days after he won the Ohio primary, Kasich pointed to “unacceptable language” from Trump about the potential for riots if a contested convention produces an alternate nominee.

“A true leader urges peaceful debate over violence,” the governor Tweeted. “Leadership requires responsibility.”

Kasich has also said on multiple occasions that his presidential campaign has changed his demeanor, making him a more humble person.

“I’ve changed,” he said during a pre-primary rally in his suburban Columbus hometown. “I have changed running for president of the United States. You know why? Because I’ve had some of the most emotional experiences that I’ve ever seen in my lifetime.”

The people who attend his rallies and town halls, Kasich said, talk about their lives and their struggles.

“They come to these rallies, and somehow they feel safe,” he said. “They feel safe in talking about some of the greatest concerns they have. … Some of them, when I talk to them privately, say they can’t believe what they see. People talking about the death of a child. People talking about their fears, about their loved ones in the military. Or people who say, ‘We’re fighting in our family with the problem of drug abuse.’ People come and they say these things.”

He added, “I learned there’s a lot of lonely people out there.”

That’s a lot different than some of the stuff you hear at Trump rallies, where attendees are urged to drown out protests and chastise the news media – the latter a frequent target for Trump, who calls reporters liars and disgusting and such.

Contrast that with Kasich, who ended an Election Day press gaggle with a promise to the reporters who cover him.

“If any of you ever see me getting out of control, I want you to take me aside, and I want you to say remember what you told us at that press conference,” he said. “Because I just want to be a good guy, helping my country. [It’s] all I really want to do.”

Marc Kovac is The Vindicator’s Statehouse correspondent. Email him at mkovac@dixcom.com or on Twitter at OhioCapitalBlog.