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Republican presidential candidate Ohio Gov. John Kasich speaks with Anderson Cooper, right, during a commercial break at a CNN town hall at the University of South Carolina in Columbia.(Photo: Andrew Harnik, AP)
COLUMBIA, S.C.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>— Ohio Gov. John<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Kasich and former Florida governor Jeb<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Bush, who have often been caught in the bottom half of the polls in South Carolina, got a chance to show off their personalities Thursday in the second of CNN's Republican town halls.
The event<span style="color: Red;">*</span>opened with a clip from Kasich's town hall at Clemson University earlier in the day, when a young man from Georgia told the presidential candidate that the governor<span style="color: Red;">*</span>had given him hope for the future after a very difficult year. Kasich told moderator and CNN anchor Anderson Cooper that encounters like this have not been uncommon during his campaign.
Kasich also discussed the death of his parents, killed by a drunken driver when he was in his 30s, which sent him "into a black hole with a little pin prick of light." Building himself back up after that loss has helped him reach people on the campaign trail like he did in Clemson on Thursday, he said.
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"I'm not —<span style="color: Red;">*</span>look, I'm not that great a guy, OK? I'm just doing the best I can. And sometimes I fail," Kasich said.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>"But I believe there's a life yet to come, and I just happen to believe that I'm going to look up here and I'm going to do my best to be the best person I can be."
Bush, whose successful debate performance Saturday has put him in a virtual tie with Texas senator Cruz<span style="color: Red;">*</span>and Florida senator<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Rubio in some polls, revealed his introverted nature is part of what has kept him going in the race despite some calls for him to quit.
Republican presidential candidate and former Florida governor Jeb Bush speaks with Anderson Cooper at a CNN town hall at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, S.C., Feb. 18, 2016.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>(Photo: Andrew Harnik, AP)
"When you're running for president and you're written off over and over again ... you're just more energized," Bush said.
The third candidate, New York businessman Donald Trump, was just as blustery in the intimate setting as he is at his campaign rallies. When a Columbia real estate broker asked how he would act rationally as president, he said sometimes you need to be brash to be a strong leader.
"I'd put these people in a room and within 10 minutes we'd have a deal," Trump said. "I don't compromise, I always win."
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks to moderator Anderson Cooper at a CNN town hall in Columbia, S.C., Feb. 18, 2016.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>(Photo: Jim Lo Scalzo, EPA)
Thursday's event was held at the University of South Carolina School of Law.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>CNN held another town hall Wednesday in Greenville featuring<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida and retired neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson.
Follow Amanda Coyne on Twitter: @AmandaCCoyne
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