Does Kasich/Taylor ticket = Bam!?

Kasich introduces Taylor as running mate

It’s moments like these that I think of Emeril Lagasse.

No, not because of the Iron Chefs competition that pitted Emeril and Mario Batali against Bobbie Flay and White House chef Cristeta Comerford (which Team Lagasse/Batali should have won, by the way, and which has turned into a bit of a Gardengate scandal because of “stunt vegetables”).

It’s because the announcement that John Kasich picked auditor Mary Taylor as his lieutenant governor running mate could easily have been followed by, “Bam!” Emeril used it to wake up lethargic cameramen; in the Kasich/Taylor case, it could be used as a potential KO sound.

Introducing the running mates, Ohio GOP Chairman Kevin DeWine labeled the duo a likely unbeatable team. He said they were the best such candidates the Ohio Republicans have fielded in a generation. Naturally, he’s expected to say such things but at the same time his comments seemed reasonable.

If anything, the remarks from the Ohio Democratic Party chairman indicated as much. Reaching for what many believe to be the harshest criticism available, Redfern said Taylor is “John Kasich’s Sarah Palin,” according to The Plain Dealer.

Well, Palin lit the fire in a lumbering GOP presidential bid with people coming out in droves to see her. Even now she is probably the most popular Republican on the national scene. Her book sales are stratospheric.

Taylor might not generate that much electricity on the campaign trail, but she’s been a councilwoman, state representative and was the only Republican to win a top spot statewide in Ohio when she became auditor in 2006. And she’s a CPA. There will be no way to question her qualifications.

Indeed, at the press conference today talking about the ticket, Kasich said that was one of the standards in picking a running mate. The person had to be able to be governor if necessary, he said.

She should be a formidable opponent.

And, going back to Redfern’s comment, there is one other problem with his reasoning: John Kasich is no John McCain.

Not to disparage McCain, but Kasich on the hustings has a special spark that will complement Taylor and have people admiring the team, as opposed to contrasting them as happened with McCain/Palin.

There is a long way to go before the next election. But the opponents of Kasich/Taylor must be hearing a little voice in their ears tonight. And it’s saying, “Bam!”