In sum, Kasich is a weak regional candidate who has virtually no chance of winning the nomination for himself.

But, paradoxically, in the current situation, in weakness there is strength. The clock is ticking on the Republican contest as if it were a time bomb.

Marco Rubio and Jeb Bush are the two credible, sane candidates now helping split the vote of Republicans who refuse to go over the cliff with Trump.

Kasich holds in his hands something that both Bush and Rubio would regard as priceless were it dangled before them. That something is a promise to withdraw from the race and endorse one or the other.

The winner of this transaction would get a significant boost. The other one would begin to fade. With the Republican field thereby significantly narrowed, the long-awaited consolidation would be set in motion overnight.