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Guardian US contributor Christopher Barron has been watching the Fox News town hall with John Kasich. He finds that he is a serious candidate ... its just too bad for him that we live in very unserious times.



Ohio Governor John Kasich kicked off the Fox News primetime Republican love fest with a town hall moderated by Greta Van Susteren and attended by largely undecided voters in Illinois. Governor Kasich is a serious man and a serious candidate, unfortunately for him the Republican primary electorate seems to prefer Trump’s vaudeville act or Cruz’s televangelism to his sober policy prescriptions.



Kasich got specific on policy (though often in his rambling, stream of consciousness style). He spoke fluently on education, taxes, trade, health care, the economy and foreign policy - where, interestingly enough, he struck an almost libertarian tone.



While others in the race have tried to take on front-runner Donald Trump head on, showing a willingness to get down in the dirt, Kasich has chosen a very different path - his entire campaign is focused on being the adult in the race.



This town hall was devoid of the red meat and ramped up rhetoric you find at a Trump or Cruz or Rubio rally these days. It is clear Kasich is banking on the Republican primary electorate coming to their collective senses at some point. It doesn’t, however, seem to be a smart bet at this point.

Whatever happens to Kasich in Ohio on Tuesday, watching the arc of his campaign does make me wonder how far Jeb could have gotten if he would have taken this path rather than getting drawn into the brawls with Trump.