We heard a televised interview recently with Republican presidential candidate John Kasich, governor next door in Ohio.

Acknowledging his candidacy’s long-shot status, Kasich emphasized his belief that the partisan rancor in national politics has never been more pronounced than it is today, and that its self-destructive nature is likely to leave him standing as the most viable candidate at the GOP convention in July.

What uniquely qualifies Kasich, he said, is his willingness to work with opponents to pass balanced budgets and achieve common-sense legislative objectives.

It’s a simple matter of asking the other side, what do you want? and responding, we can do that, I can’t do that, we can try to do a little of that, he said.

“And you show respect,” he said.

Those are words of wisdom for Kasich’s neighbors in Pennsylvania, where we seem incapable of passing any budget, let alone a balanced one, and legislative initiatives get shot down like pigeons at a Berks County block shoot.

Clearly it was disrespectful when freshman Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat, presented his first budget proposal as an all-or-nothing deal — saying, in essence that he refused to negotiate with the Republican-controlled House and Senate.

Yet it seems equally disrespectful when state Rep. Daryl Metcalfe, R-12th, and other legislators threaten Wolf with impeachment. They claim Wolf has taken numerous actions that reach beyond his constitutional powers — he already has been sued twice for such actions.

Well, that’s why we have courts to consider and rule on matters of constitutional authority.

Let’s make Kasich’s advice plainer still: This generation of politicians are bullies. They tell children, don’t tolerate a bully, but then they engage in ritual displays of their might.

What’s lacking are the extended offers of political cooperation.

The plain question: What do you want?

The simple replies: We can do this; we can’t do that.

Maybe legislating is an art. It if is, then in some respects it has become a lost art.

And perhaps, if we are to rediscover the art of legislating, we need to rediscover respect as well, as Kasich suggests.

It’s a stray thought to consider as the April 26 spring primary approaches.