Kasich, John R. 1952–

views updated

Kasich, John R. 1952–

PERSONAL:

Surname rhymes with "basic"; born May 13, 1952, in McKees Rocks, PA; son of John (a mail carrier) and Anne (a homemaker) Kasich; married Mary Lee Griffith (divorced); married Karen Waldbillig (a communications consultant), March 22, 1997; children: (second marriage) Emma, Reese (twin daughters). Education: Ohio State University, B.A., 1974. Politics: Republican. Religion: Christian. Hobbies and other interests: Reading, golf, travel.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Westerville, OH. Office—Lehman Brothers Holding, Inc., 745 7th Ave., New York, NY 10019.

CAREER:

Politician, news commentator. Ohio State Senate, Columbus, OH, administrative assistant, 1975-77, state senator, 1979-82; United States House of Representatives, Washington, DC, Republican representative from Ohio's Twelfth District, 1983-2001, chair of the budget committee, member of the national security committee; Lehman Brothers Holding, Inc., New York, NY, managing director of investment banking division, 2001—. Heartland with John Kasich, Fox News, host, 2001—. Guest on television programs, including Larry King Live, CNN; Meet the Press, NBC; and 60 Minutes, CBS; The O'Reilly Factor, Fox News, guest host. Serves on the board of advisors of the Washington Legal Foundation

AWARDS, HONORS:

Named "one of the most fascinating men in politics," George magazine, 1997; named as one of the "one hundred people for the next century," Newsweek, 1997.

WRITINGS:

Courage Is Contagious: Ordinary People Doing Extraordinary Things to Change the Face of America, Doubleday (New York, NY), 1998.

Stand for Something: The Battle for America's Soul, Warner Books (New York, NY), 2006.

Author and coauthor of government reports.

ADAPTATIONS:

Stand for Something was adapted for audio (three CDs), Time Warner AudioBooks, 2006.

SIDELIGHTS:

Former United States Representative John R. Kasich, a Republican elected from Ohio's Twelfth District in the early 1980s, built a political reputation as a fiscal conservative at a time of intense debate over matters of taxes and spending. Increasingly visible and influential as a member of the national security committee and the chair of the house budget committee, the nine-term congressman became a national spokesperson for conservative values. He wrote Courage Is Contagious: Ordinary People Doing Extraordinary Things to Change the Face of America, a book profiling Americans who exemplify self-reliance and civic responsibility.

In information published on his former House of Representatives Web site, Kasich defined himself as a compassionate but hard-headed reformer. He cited his work on the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 and welfare reform measures as prime achievements that he hoped would relieve American citizens of heavy tax burdens while promoting more fair spending policies. He stressed his commitment to ending corporate welfare, government tax breaks to businesses, and excessive defense spending.

Kasich's view is that solutions will come from communities and families, rather than from Washington. This is the theme of his Courage Is Contagious. The book profiles Americans whom Kasich considers heroic because of their volunteer activities. These people include Amber Coffman, a teenager who created a program to distribute sandwiches to homeless people, and Albert Lexie, a shoeshiner at Pittsburgh's Children's Hospital who, over a period of twenty years, donated thousands of dollars of his tips to the hospital.

Upon leaving Congress, Kasich took a position with Lehman Brothers and also appeared as host of the television program Heartland with John Kasich for Fox News. In his second book, Stand for Something: The Battle for America's Soul, Kasich expresses his opinion that core values, including "honesty, integrity, personal responsibility, faith, humility, accountability, compassion, [and] forgiveness," must be renewed in order to repair America. Booklist contributor Vanessa Bush wrote that Kasich "is certain to provoke speculation about future campaign ambitions with this book."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, March 15, 2006, Vanessa Bush, review of Stand for Something: The Battle for America's Soul, p. 9.

Cincinnati Post, February 16, 1999, James Lileks, review of Courage Is Contagious: Ordinary People Doing Extraordinary Things to Change the Face of America, p. 10A.

Publishers Weekly, March 13, 2006, review of Stand for Something, p. 56.

Reference & Research Book News, August, 2006, review of Stand for Something.