Nixon Squirms In Front of Press

The Missouri GOP has uploaded video of Nixon's recent press conference, in which he dodges and evades questions about his knowledge of E.Coli-Gate. When the press asked him what information he was using when he said his office wasn't aware of E.Coli-Gate, Nixon never got further than "I'm not exactly sure". After changing his answer mid-sentence at least five times, he finally gave up.

Nixon went on to claim that he has made his staffers, such as Jeff Mazur and Jack Cardetti, available to answer questions about their roles in E.Coli-Gate. The problem? He never did. The two have only issued a few highly filtered messages to the press that didn't answer any questions. Nixon could make them, but he'd rather cling to a lie that no one believes.

Nixon's discomfort is almost palpable, as is the frustration from reporters in the room.

Here is a man who wants to fix the "communication failures" that plague the DNR but can't answer simple questions about communication inside his small office. He wants to restore trust in Missouri's waters, but retains staff and appointees who have been caught lying and concealing E. coli levels in the past. Meanwhile, he fires people who actually do their jobs.

Nixon wants the inmates to run the asylum. His position is so absurd he can't even finish a sentence in defense of it. Having seen the video, are those the answers of an honest man?

So many of his problems would go away if he just gave acceptable answers to these questions. The only reason not to answer them is if he's worried about being contradicted later on. With the Senate investigation and possible use of subpoenas still looming, this is a reasonable concern for a politician with something to hide.

There's a similar pattern in his other actions. His "investigation" into the DNR, which produced no written report and whose results are being kept out of the public's eye, didn't lead to any substantive measure except the reinstatement of Mark Templeton.

By sticking with fluff, there's nothing he can be held accountable for. It leaves one conclusion standing: Nixon is still hiding information, and the threat of its release is significant enough to keep him quiet.