John Kasich

In your first year as governor, your approval ratings collapsed to the low 30s. What did you learn from that?

Got crushed! The one thing I really learned from that is you really want to unite. And if you have to fight and you divide, that’s O.K., but just don’t do it all the time. Look, we were $8 billion in a hole. We had many things we had to do to climb out of that. And once we started climbing out, we were in a better position. I’m also a change agent. And when you’re a change agent, it shakes people up.

You were at Lehman Brothers until the financial collapse. Do you have any regrets from that period?

It was fantastic. Are you kidding? Regrets? I thought it was a fantastic time. I traveled all over the country. I got an incredible education. I worked my tail off. It was great.

You have something of a reputation for having rough edges. Do you see that in yourself sometimes?

I’m from Pittsburgh. We’re pretty direct.

What did you learn from standing up to some in your own party [by expanding Medicaid in Ohio under Obamacare]?

I’ve never thought anything about it. It was the right thing to do. I didn’t see it as standing up to my party really. I just saw it as carrying out something that I thought was important for my state. Here’s the thing you have to realize: the Republican Party is my vehicle and not my master.