Kasich talks economics, foreign policy at GOP debate

The top 11 Republican presidential candidates squared off in the second GOP debate Wednesday night in the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. Among them was Ohio Gov. John Kasich.Many of Kasich’s remarks during the debate, including his opening statements, focused on economic improvement to help the American middle class. He argued that as the only candidate onstage to work on the federal budget the last time it was balanced, he is qualified to be the next president.“People still have to get to know me, so I want to spend my time talking about my experience reforming welfare, balancing budgets, cutting taxes, providing economic growth when I was in Washington, turning Ohio around,” Kasich said.He also took a stance on the Iran nuclear deal that differs from most of the other candidates onstage saying that although he does not support the deal, he believes that the U.S. needs to strengthen its international relations and tearing up the deal is not the way to go about doing that.“We don’t have a relationship with our allies,” Kasich said in response to Ted Cruz. “If we want to go everywhere alone, we will not have the strength as if we could rebuild with our allies.”Compared to current Republican front-runner Donald Trump, who received significant screen time, Kasich’s appearance in the debate was relatively limited. His sentiments, however, may resonate with many Americans who favor a smaller federal government that maximizes the input individuals can give.“One more time in America, we need to revive the concept of citizenship, where everybody’s actions make a huge difference in changing the world,” Kasich said.