Is John Kasich running for President?

Immediately after signing the state budget, our Governor seems to have set his sights on Washington, starting the week with a fundraising e-mail entitled: “Let’s Hope D.C. Notices…” which read, in part:

With the signing of a historic budget that fills a nearly $8 billion shortfall and maintains a income tax cut, Governor John Kasich and legislative leaders have set Ohio on the path to job creation and prosperity. This effort has not gone unnoticed in the national media:

• The New York Times said John Kasich “has established himself as a get-things-done governor.” You can read more here.

• Closer to home, Ohio’s Lt. Governor Mary Taylor recently had a must read column about Obamacare and how the President’s health care plan is bad for Ohioans. You can read it here in the Times Gazette.

The common thread in all of these pieces is that Ohio is making the tough decisions and creating a job friendly environment.  It would be nice if our leaders in Washington could do the same.

He then proceeded to take an east coast media tour that involved appearances on Morning Joe and Fox and Friends where he told tales of his work on the House budget committee in the 90s and how he passed a balanced budget in Ohio (a feat he seems impressed by, failing to realize it is a legal requirement that every Governor before him has also achieved).

The message appears to be “hey, I used to be relevant in Washington, and now I’ve passed a budget in Ohio. Please notice me.” With no obvious front-runner out there for the GOP nomination, it’s entirely possible he’s desperately hoping that GOP power brokers will swoop in and ask him to run, rescuing the Country and the party from a lackluster field of candidates. He’s been deliberately coy about endorsing, refusing to get behind any of the current crop of candidates.

That’s probably a pipe dream, given his abysmal approval ratings. Most folks I’ve spoken to believe it’s far more likely that he’s putting himself out there in the race for VP.

Either way, it’s pretty clear he wants to get out of Ohio (which he described on MSNBC as “dying”).

Either way, it’s pretty clear his heart is in Washington.