Kasich: I Will Not Launch a Negative Campaign

There are many presidential candidates launching negative attack ads, John Kasich said Friday, but he doesn't believe that's the way to go.

"I'm just telling people what I want to do, and when I talk to them about running a positive campaign, they cheer," the Ohio governor told Fox News' "Fox and Friends" program.  "It's hard to unite the country when you spend all your time attacking somebody."

Kasich said he's not worried about attacks such as those coming from rival candidate Jeb Bush about his conservatism and he's not really worried about Bush damaging his "family legacy," despite telling a South Carolina crowd just that on Thursday.

"My greatest concern is being able to have the infrastructure here in South Carolina to absorb the enthusiasm," said Kasich. "We are here in South Carolina. We are scrappy. We are plugging here. We'll move to the rest of the country. The deep south, Virginia, Michigan, the Midwest. I'm not worried about any individual."

Kasich also addressed complaints about his decision to expand Medicaid as part of the Obamacare law, and noted that the program's growth went from 10.5 percent in the first year of the law to five percent in its second.

"It was one of the most conservative changes in the country," he said. "We were up 400,000 jobs. And I don't think it makes sense to not offer care to the mentally ill so they live under a bridge or in a prison which costs a lot of money or to the drug addicted. Or to the working poor who spend their time in and out of emergency rooms."

He also denied claims from the Bush team that he was hostile to the military while he was serving as a representative.

"I was what you call a chief hawk," he said. "Many of us thought we should make sure the resources get to the men and women on the front lines of the military. When I found a $400 hammer or $5,000 wrench I thought it was important to clean that up."

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