My rating: 3 of 5 stars
John Kasich tells a bit of his life story, a bit of his philosophy of "governing" (and how that changed from his time on the Hill to his time as governor of Ohio), and then launches into an account of his time on the campaign trail in 2016 running for the Presidency. I picked up this book to refresh myself on Kasich after hearing that he'll speak at the Democratic National Convention this coming week. I read the audiobook, narrated by the author.
The book reads pretty much how I remember Kasich - light on policy, with an emphasis on fiscal conservatism and a balanced federal budget, but with a whole lot of heart and empathy, and an enthusiastic yet unpretentious delivery. If such a thing as "compassionate conservatism" really exists, Kasich seems to embody it far better than W did. You do get a good sense of who he is in reading this book.
Only three stars because Kasich was a bit too adroit at disowning some of the events on the campaign trail - saying more than once that "I wasn't into the strategy" of the campaign. Compared to the rest of the book his discussion of the campaign was a bit too disingenuous for me.
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