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I forgot about this funny incident.

Kasich 'phones in' first campaign stop in Michigan

Ohio Governor John Kasich's six-day campaign tour through Michigan began inauspiciously yesterday. His charter plane from New York could not make it to his first scheduled stop, a town hall at the Student Union at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor on Tuesday morning, March 2.

Unable to attend in person, Kasich did the next best thing. He called the approximately forty people at the venue and spoke to them over the phone.

Kasich apologized to the attendees for not being present. “I’m so sorry I couldn’t be there today; I’m going to be in Michigan a lot here in the next few days, and hopefully I can get somewhere near where you are and apologize to you personally,” he was quoted by the Michigan Daily.

He also joked with the small crowd. “I would have flapped my arms and flown there myself if I could have,” Kasich quipped to the crowd as quoted by the Detroit Free Press.

The Michigan Daily caught another flash of Kasich's sense of humor. He said he understood that they might be suspicious of him, as he's “from that state down south.”

He continued to make light of his being on the other side of the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry by referring to Michigan's football coach. "I was hoping to get Jim Harbaugh on the campaign bus with me," the Detroit Free Press quoted Kasich. "And if that happened, maybe I could have gone to the Middle East and parted the Red Sea."

On a more serious note, Kasich addressed Trump's popularity during his call "To be honest with you, I do understand a lot of the appeal of Donald Trump because people are frustrated," the Michigan Daily quoted him. "But what has been happening lately is we've been electing outsiders who make promises and then they go to Washington and don't get anything done, and the frustration just builds higher and higher."

In contrast, University of Michigan Regent Andrew Richner, a Republican from Grosse Pointe Park who introduced Kasich, portrayed him as someone who would be able to accomplish what he promised. Richner also described Kasich as the most electable nominee. "At the end of the day, I think it's important that we nominate someone who can actually win the election," MLive quoted him as saying.

Most electable or not, Kasich currently sits in last place among Republican candidates in Michigan. The most recent poll shows him in fourth place with twelve percent. The Mitchell/Fox 2 Detroit poll lists New York real estate developer Donald Trump in first with thirty-nine percent. The state's primary is March 8.

Kasich was able to make his next scheduled stop, an appearance in Grand Blanc Tuesday afternoon. MLive reported that he would also hold an event in Warren during the day on Wednesday before attending the Republican debate in Detroit Wednesday evening. His campaign will then go west to Holland on Friday, then north to Traverse City and Marquette on Saturday.