Gov. Kasich for President?

Unlike any election cycle in recent memory, the long line of potential Republican presidential candidates is large enough that there may be as many of them not included on the debate stage as there are that will be.

That may be true of Ohio Gov. John Kasich, the firebrand Tea Party Republican who took the governor’s mansion by storm in 2010. With a long resume of conservative, intrepid leadership that stretches back to the Gingrich-led revolution in Congress, his time may have come.

But unlike his fellow midwestern Gov. Scott Walker, Kasich has yet to be the recipient of a groundswell of support for a White House bid. In some ways he could be the anti-Scott Walker, as some have pointed out, in the sense that his popularity waned after losing or kowtowing to Democrats in several key policy fights during his tenure.

Still, Kasich admits his dream has always been to become president, perhaps budded after meeting President Nixon as a freshman in college. But he has been thus far tight-lipped on whether he’ll make a move, and time is running out in a field that is getting larger and more precarious every week.