The case for John Kasich

So what are the odds that Kasich will run? In the past, he has said he would not venture back onto the presidential trail without a surer flow of funding than he had in 2000, when Team Bush crushed all comers. The irony is not lost on Kasich that, were he to run this cycle, he likely would face yet another Bush. Asked if a Jeb candidacy gives him a case of déjà vu, Kasich diplomatically offers: “I know Jeb. I like Jeb. He’s kind of a policy guy, like I am, more than a political guy. And good for Jeb. We’ll see how he does out there. It’s—we’ll just have to see how it goes.”

Lest anyone think that the return of the Bush money machine is a deal-breaker, however, Kasich offers a prediction that even he allows may be wishful thinking: “One thing I think may be true, although I think they say this every time there’s an election: Money probably won’t matter that much this time around. Those could be famous last words. I don’t know. But I think that there’s clearly an undercurrent of change going on in the country. People are like, What is going on?” Muses the governor hopefully, “It might be that it will be something different that will matter more than money.”

Bottom line, Kasich tells me: “All options are on the table. I’m not taking them off. I’m not making any decisions.” But for now, he says, “my energy and my passion and my fight is in two things: Ohio and my balanced-budget cause.”