Two Paths: America Divided or United

Two Paths: America Divided or United by John Kasich               Audio Book:  8 hours, 53 minutes   Hardback Book:  320 pages                

When the Governor of Ohio, John Kasich decided to run for president in 2016 he had no idea what a down and dirty, all but an out and out brawl of backstabbing, out right lies and mud slinging that was certainly as bad as the most famous of the political bashing that went on during the campaigns of John Quincy Adams and Alexander Hamilton.   He couldn’t believe it.    Of course there are different opinions, different stances on issues and policy but he couldn’t believe the behavior he dealt with even among his fellow running mates in his own party.    He said it was unbelieveable the infighting, the jockeying for positions and while he thought his competition was really against who he considered the front runner, Jeb Bush, because no one took Donald Trump seriously or thought he stood a chance of being the Republican Party’s nominee, he couldn’t believe how candidates all tried to intimidate him into dropping out.    Two of his party who were also running demanded he drop out and there were some shady stories about each that could be a problem for them.    He felt like he was punched in the face.   The behavior floored him.    He thought everyone had their platform and would promote it but he didn’t realize while that was true they were trying to shoot each other in the foot to rid the race of competition.   Things were said that can’t be taken back nor forgotten.    He was appalled at the gloom and doom of Trump’s campaign and the outrageous claims he made about himself and the promises he made to voters that he would fulfill upon election.   Kasich thought surely voters would see through the arrogant claims made by Trump about himself and the vague or incorrect information he would spew often telling different numbers (inflating them) to fit whatever he wanted them to.   He was astounded Trump wasn’t asked by the party to leave, but no one ever told him to stop or if they did Trump ignored them, Kasich said.    He hated that Trump’s stance was that everything was wrong in America and that Trump would be the one to make it all right.     Kasich said that he and Trump saw the nation from two different paths – Trumps – the U.S. is going to hell in a handbasket and only he could save the country from itself or Kasich’s path that America is and always has been a wonderful country and that no matter what if times got tough America found a way through it.   America isn’t weak and falling apart as Trump orated, Kasich’s platform was America is great and always will be.    American ingenuity and loyalty will bind us all together when tough times come.  United we stand.   Kasich rallied to be the voice of reason amongst all the bickering.  When candidates came together on one stage to debate, Kasich said he was always relegated to Siberia – the far side of the stage for the candidates that weren’t taken seriously (because their funds weren’t as big as some of the front runners Bush, Trump) and seldom called on to answer questions and when he was called on, because he spoke from a Christian and Family perspective the moderators tended to hit him with questions about Gay Rights, Gay Marriage, Gays in the Military, how did he feel about Muslims, etc.  He took them in his stride because that is what he believed a presidential candidate should do, but, he didn’t miss the message implied there.     He continued to make the point that America is great because America is good, it embraces all people as being created equally and because as our forefathers stated we are one nation under God.   He felt part of his problem other than trying to be the voice of reason, calm and dignity amongst the chaos of the down and dirty remarks made by his fellow running mates and finger pointing and slurring at the other podiums, he did not have the name recognition of the other politicians even though he had been a force in politics for over 18 years in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Washington, D.C.    He did not rule out a run for the 2020 election – he kind of left that door open.    A telling book from the inside, you can feel the whirlwind in his words as if he is speaking from the eye of the storm and in many ways he was.      A very interesting and well detailed glimpse into the hows and whys of what went on in the Republican Party during one of the most controversial presidential elections in this country’s history.   Well worth the read.