Ohio Gov. John Kasich’s recent comments suggesting President Obama’s healthcare law was here to stay and having a positive impact on people’s lives generated a lot of attention as marking a potential shift in Republican attitudes toward the program. But the fact that he has since pushed back on the story suggests he’s seriously thinking about a run for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination.

On Monday, the Associated Press ran a (since-modified) story quoting Kasich as saying of repealing Obamacare, “That’s not gonna happen.” He added that opposition “was really either political or ideological” and that “I don’t think that holds water against real flesh and blood and real improvements in people’s lives.”