Most of the news regarding the primaries has been covering the big two of Donald Trump and Ted Cruz/Zodiac Killer, but there is in fact a third candidate still in the running and that is John Kasich (Rhymes with basic). If all you know about the man you found out from the debates, then you probably know nothing about him because he never did anything interesting at all. But if you paid attention you probably thought of him as the voice of reason at the table, maybe somewhere slightly to the left of the candidates, and you would know his dad was a postman. You would be wrong about everything except the postman thing. Kasich is moderate seeming in comparison to the other candidates, but the key here is the word seeming.
The mask slips once in a while, as it did during February when he briefly advocated for a government department responsible for promulgating Christianity in the Middle East and other areas hostile to America. While obviously terrible to anyone with a shred of constitutional knowledge, historical education, or decency, this plan was blasted by the right because it would mean increasing the size of the government, he hasn't mentioned it much since, although the goals of the agency are still listed under slightly changed language on his campaign site.
Outside of the occasional creepy religious outburst, his policies are pretty bog standard Republican, he's anti union, not a fan of Planned Parenthood, he's raised and cut taxes in such a way as to disproportionately benefit the rich, is a huge fan of restricting voters ability to get to the polls by cutting the time and locations available to do so, advocates growing the private prison industry, and for some reason is incredibly opposed to mass transit and rail projects.
As a presidential candidate he would arguably be more dangerous than Cruz or Trump because he is actually capable of talking like someone with human emotions and a greater intelligence than a fruit bat for an extended period of time, in another time he would be a serious contender but... 2016 is not that time.
Consistently on the low side of the polls, he has never led pretty much at all, his presence in the race is kind of a mystery and most, including myself, theorize that he is holding out for either a contested convention to hand him the nom, or a VP slot in return for throwing his support behind another candidate, although I can't see him doing so with Trump or Cruz, it is possible that he could make a deal with another party if the convention is contested and could play the role of kingmaker if the delegate counts are close. Mathematically it is impossible for him to win outright so that is the only explanation that makes sense to me.
Currently he is running a focused and frugal campaign, which probably explains his longevity, despite claims to the contrary he does not appear to expect to win, or even strongly compete, in many states.
His attempt to run as "the adult in the room" has not paid off, the base is not interested in adults this year apparently, although as it gets later in the day people seem to be coming around, a little bit. Not enough to make a difference, but some of the party seems to have flashes of sanity as media coverage becomes more intense and critical of the candidates. But he isn't as loud as Trump, or as sleazy as Cruz, and his attempts to make himself noticeable have mostly failed or been off-putting.
Don't be fooled by big words and calm demeanor, he is just as horrible as the others and I hate him, as should you.
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