"You're not advancing this cause, and you're looking like an idiot."

�You�re not advancing this cause, and you�re looking like an idiot.�

Not many could deliver that harsh message to Ohio Gov. John Kasich, but longtime confidant Don Thibaut could.

It was one of two critical phone calls to Kasich last week that eventually prompted his decision to drop out of the 2016 presidential race, those familiar with the events said. The other came from Jai Chabria, another longtime associate.

In a scene seemingly made for a movie, the Kasich campaign team already was aboard a private jet at Port Columbus on Wednesday morning, ready to fly to Washington, D.C., to continue the effort � which by then had become more of a cause than a campaign because Kasich�s chances of heading off Donald Trump were virtually nil. Press aide Rob Nichols, who had rarely traveled with Kasich on the campaign, even got his hair cut for the trip.

But they had what one described as �The Talk,� and the group got off the jet and gathered in a conference room of the fixed-based flight operator, under the gun of a looming deadline to take off if Kasich was still going to make a D.C. press conference where reporters already were gathered.

Thibaut had weighed in the previous evening after Trump�s big primary win in Indiana. Some in the Kasich camp wanted to press on, pushing a positive message but at the same time continuing to sound the alarm that a Trump nomination means disaster for the GOP in the November election.

But Thibaut was beyond blunt, essentially saying, �You�re lessening impact of that argument by looking like a fool.� Chabria wasn�t as caustic, but the bottom line of his call Wednesday morning was the same.

Once the decision to suspend the campaign was made, Kasich remained in the conference room for several hours, making calls to supporters across the country to share his decision.

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Another piece of the Kasich withdrawal drama: Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus reportedly called Ohio GOP Chairman Matt Borges late Tuesday night to deliver a heads-up on a coming tweet calling for party unity because Trump "will be presumptive GOP nominee." We're told that Borges begged for 10 minutes to consult with the Kasich folks, then asked Priebus not to post it. But the national chairman went ahead, and the dis of Kasich quickly went viral.

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Could an Athens microbrew be on tap at the White House next year?

On Tuesday, Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton appeared at Jackie O's, speaking in front of a huge pallet of beer cans painted to represent her campaign logo and the huge tanks in which the microbrewery does its stuff.

Clinton promised that if she takes up residency at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., she will serve the craft beer at the White House. And, Clinton said, she will let Jackie O's owner Art Oerstrike decide the brew menu.

In perusing Jackie O's list of beers, Dispatch Reporter Randy Ludlow found a must-have for Clinton � Mystic Mama.