Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) gave what was at times a bizarre State of the State address on Tuesday.
Kasich's speech was laced with repeated mentions of his wife, Karen Kasich, an impersonation by the governor of someone with severe Parkinson's disorder, and a reference to Californians as "wackadoodles."
At one point, saying he wanted to pay his wife a compliment, Kasich said, "I remember that cartoon that said, 'Kasich will still not reveal how he snagged that hot wife.'”
When referring to medical research in Ohio, Kasich mimicked someone with Parkinson's.
"There was a man, they shut off the pacemaker, they put it back on. He gave me a carved piece of wood," Kasich said, convulsing for a moment then stopping. "It was like magic. John Glenn was with us the other day at that Cabinet meeting. It's incredible if we can encourage that and then commercialize it, as well."
He also referred to Californians as "wackadoodles" while mentioning that Ohio had previously ranked near last in job creation.
"A year ago, Ohio ranked 48th in job creation," Kasich said. "We trailed only Michigan and California in lost jobs — Michigan, the home of the auto industry that was devastated and California, of course, filled by a bunch of wackadoodles."
Kasich is known for going off script at moments. He received national attention in 2011 during a legislative battle over a bill curtailing union workers' rights in Ohio.
