Story highlights He's not a skilled entertainer like Trump or the scion of a political dynasty like Bush, but the Ohio governor showed humanity and smarts, says Dean Obeidallah

Obeidallah says Trump's answers were the same we have seen for a while: broad-stroked and lacking in details.

Dean Obeidallah, a former attorney, is the host of SiriusXM's weekly program "The Dean Obeidallah Show," a columnist for The Daily Beast and editor of the politics blog The Dean's Report. Follow him on Twitter: @TheDeansreport. The opinions expressed in this commentary are his.

(CNN) Donald Trump may have been the third candidate to appear on Thursday's GOP town hall on CNN, but still he loomed large over the entire event.

Both John Kasich and Jeb Bush, the other two candidates involved, were asked about Trump's fight with Pope Francis, a battle which seems more like an "SNL" sketch than real life. And my Twitter feed was filled with people awaiting Trump's arrival: Would he be combative? Would he apologize to the Pope? Or would he take a swipe at the Dalai Lama or Mother Teresa?

There's no doubt Donald Trump was the most entertaining. But who won the night? It was John Kasich.

Trump's ease as a television personality was expected. He is a celebrity who hosted 14 seasons of a reality show. Comparing Trump to Bush or Kasich in terms of performance skills would be like pitting me against LeBron James in a slam-dunk contest.

But Kasich stood out in being able to combine policy details with sincere and often moving personal stories. His interview began with a clip from a compelling event that had taken place earlier that day when a young man tearfully hugged Kasich after revealing that Kasich had helped give meaning to his life.

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