'Preacher' John Kasich could be wild card of 2016

(The Christian Science Monitor) John Kasich is a man of many passions.

Ask the governor of Ohio about drug addiction, and he’ll give you a sermon. Ask about the environment, and he’ll say it matters because “the Lord gave it to us.” Ask about his controversial (for a Republican) decision to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, and he’ll talk about helping the “downtrodden.”

Kasich, who enters the presidential race today, could also be called “John the Evangelist,” for the faith-driven sensibility he brings to public life. But don’t pigeonhole him as a religious conservative. In fact, some religious conservative leaders see him using faith inappropriately, as a path to big government. And don’t call him a “compassionate conservative,” à la former president George W. Bush, a label Kasich reportedly hates.