Ohio GOP Gov Candidate John Kasich Confesses: As House Budget Chair I Screwed Up My Federal Ethics Forms

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Sloppy not crooked. Or stupid not crooked. The Kasich for Governor campaign now has an explanation for a federal financial disclosure form that shows he purchased shares in a Goldman Sachs investment fund before the fund was launched in 1999. John Kasich's excuse: He didn't manage to correctly fill out the legally required paperwork. In other words, John Kasich -- who was responsible for putting together the entire budget for the United States government -- couldn't get things right on his Ethics in Government Act report. Shades of former Ohio Gov. Bob Taft, who had his own problems with lapses on ethics forms. Kasich made his mistake in 2000, the year he wanted to campaign for the presidency. Now he's running for governor of Ohio and correcting the decade old error. Kasich is supposed to be sharp with numbers, and worked at Lehman Brothers as a managing director. He was an executive at the Wall Street investment bank when it collapsed and helped trigger the current worldwide financial crisis. Inquiring minds are wondering: Does Kasich know how to watch the store?