“I can’t wait to be in New York City with Alphonse D’Amato, we are gonna have the time of our lives.”  That’s how Republican presidential candidate John Kasich responded when I asked about D’Amato’s recent endorsement of Kasich.

Three term senator D’Amato has now been out of office, and a lobbyist, for nearly as long as he was in office.  I asked Kasich what D’Amato’s endorsement signaled about Kasich’s general relationship with lobbyists.  Here’s what he had to say:

D’Amato was George Pataki’s primary political patron, playing a key role in Pataki’s first gubernatorial run.  Last week I asked Pataki about D’Amato’s endorsement of a Pataki competitor.