Last week’s gathering of the Republican Governor’s Association featured a panel discussion among five potential presidential candidates and Ohio Gov. John Kasich reportedly stole the show.
According to Yahoo News, Kasich continuously contrasted himself with Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, Louisiana’s Bobby Jindal, Indiana’s Mike Pence and Texas’ Rick Perry — who are all looking hard at running for president.
Jon Ward of Yahoo reported that the message Kasich wanted to make clear to the crowd of 2,000, and the one he appears likely to carry into a crowded presidential primary, was that he is not a typical Republican who simply opposes Obama, criticizes Democrats and talks about the need to cut taxes. Instead, he conveyed, he is a problem solver who wants economic growth but also wants government to help people and fix things.
NBC’s Sarah Blackwill noted that, of the five governors on stage, only Kasich was
open to the possibility of a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants,
saying: “We’ve got to think about what’s going to bring about healing. My
sense is, I don’t like the idea of citizenship when people jump the line, we
may have to do it.”
When Walker contrasted President Obama’s handling of Congress with Bill Clinton’s style while in the White House, Kasich, who served as House Budget Committee chair in the mid-1990s, put Walker in his place, giving the Wisconsin chief executive a history lesson.
Here’s how Ward summarized the RGA event:
