Several of the candidates showed knowledge of the issues Wednesday night that should have put Donald Trump to shame if there is any pride left in American politics. We believe the sharpest candidate on the debate stage, and the most qualified of the GOP candidates to return America to that pride, was Gov. John Kasich of Ohio. Unfortunately, the sideshow that is Trump continues to obscure Kasich and other real candidates.
Sen. Marco Rubio’s knowledge of foreign affairs was impressive. Sen. Rand Paul, with an appealing libertarian streak, especially on the failed war on drugs and in questioning foreign wars in general, continued to push back hard against Trump. Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson projected gentle compassion, if not government experience, for the most part, except in his hardhearted approach to immigration reform.
Ex-Hewlett-Packard head Carly Fiorina, poised and knowledgeable, showed what many already knew: She belonged in the prime-time debate all along. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, earnest in his place on the stage beside Trump, whom he stood up to, was passionate and open, as in his reasonable immigration stance and in saying that he smoked pot in his youth.
On the downside, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee kept to his wrongheaded defense of Kim Davis, once again showing a disturbing ignorance of the Constitution. Sen. Ted Cruz came off as shrill and unreasonable with his continued cozying up to Trump.
Kasich, unfortunately, was largely overlooked. But he had some strong lines. He said of the Iran deal, “We believe we operate better in the world when our allies work with us.” He still pledged to stay firm on Iran. On Planned Parenthood, he said there are ways to cut off its funding “without having to shut the government down.”
He noted his years in Congress in the 1990s, in which he helped lead the way to a balanced budget. He noted his tenure as governor of Ohio. He has worked well across party lines in Washington and Ohio, leading in an economic rebound in his state. “America’s got to work,” he said. “We’ve got to figure out how we come together to deal with this — with our fiscal problems, because when we deal with that, we create a stronger economy for everybody. People have a chance to rise.”
While some of the candidates occasionally rained fire on “presumptive” Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, Kasich kept his focus on the present. “Right now, I want to give people a sense of hope, a sense of unity, a sense of purpose, a sense that we can do it,” he said.
But, if it does come to a race against Clinton, he said he can beat her in Ohio. His state, of course, will be a key battleground in 2016 for electoral votes.
There’s still plenty of time for serious candidates like Kasich to get the exposure they have earned.
