In an effort to stop Donald Trump, Ted Cruz and John Kasich have joined forces. Their alliance means Kasich would pull out of Indiana to increase Cruz’s chances for a victory while in return Cruz will cede Oregon and New Mexico to Kasich; all in order to keep Trump from getting to his goal of 1,237 delegates.
The charge by Trump that there is anything illegitimate or illicit is ludicrous, particularly coming from someone with the morals of Mr. Trump. It’s simply a tactical move – albeit a highly unusual one — by the two candidates trailing Trump. But that alliance is, at the New York Times puts it, “fraying almost to the point of irrelevance.” The problem seems to be not Cruz but Kasich. To understand why, consider the short chronology.
On Sunday the Cruz and Kasich campaigns released statements indicating that each would “clear the path” for the other in the states they were withdrawing from. Fair enough. Except by, Monday Governor Kasich was telling Indiana voters that they “ought to vote for me,” which is hardly consistent with giving “the Cruz campaign a clear path in Indiana.”
To make matters even more confusing, this morning featured this rather odd and uncomfortable interview Kasich did on NBC’s “Today,” where he was both evasive and petulant at the same time. For one thing, he denied that he “tells voters what to do,” despite having done just that the previous day. For another, Kasich just couldn’t bring himself to tell his Indiana voters that they should vote for Cruz in order to stop Trump in order to ensure an open convention — Kasich’s only chance to win the nomination. Instead, Kasich decided to mock Matt Lauer and Savannah Guthrie (“You guys are the ones who are confused and upset, we’re not… I think you guys are having a hard time figuring this out… You guys are too hung up on process.”).
When Lauer pressed Kasich to answer a simple question – “And just so we can end on a plain and simple note, the people in Indiana who are watching this program right now, your message to them come primary day is to vote for…” – Kasich responded, “Look, I’m not getting into that, Matt. Things are not so plain and simple.”
Actually, in this case, they are. Governor Kasich just can’t get himself to ask his voters in Indiana to make a strategic vote for Ted Cruz, in the interest of helping John Kasich.
If the Cruz-Kasich alliance is going to work, it will require the two of them to work in concert and execute it like pros rather than amateurs. Right now, John Kasich looks all the world like an amateur with a self-righteous attitude.
