Jay Nixon speaking at the American Legion Boys State of Missouri on Sunday evening, June 15th

Missouri Attorney General (and gubernatorial candidate) Jay Nixon (D) spoke to the almost one thousand Missouri Boys State participants last night in Hendricks Hall on the campus of the University of Central Missouri. I had been told that Attorney General Nixon had in the past usually made a short speech or prepared remarks, reserving the bulk of the time to take questions from the audience. He did the same last night. His opening remarks lasted approximately ten minutes. He then spent the next hour taking questions and responding in a give and take which resembled a cross between a lecture on government and the House of Commons question time. There were a few sparks.

Jay Nixon’s concluding remarks:

…Let me conclude because I know you guys gotta go on, and, and…I’ll give my last one minute and then I’ll move on down the road…

   

People will stand here…to you this week and stand on podiums your entire life and either try to work you or not respect you. And I think it is extremely important for you as young leaders to be stunning…stunningly intolerant of folks not respecting you intellectually or personally.

The, the vast number of debates that go on in politics in this country you could write on the side of an index card, two or three words, and it’d be done. It’s a, it’s a message box, it’s a sound bite. It’s a way to divide people, to get people against something.

It’s a much harder responsibility, it’s more difficult and complicated to get people to agree to do something. [applause] [crosstalk] It’s a lot harder to pass a Missouri Promise and get a four year path way than it is to stand back there and say, “Oh, we don’t have enough money.” It’s a lot easier to say “Oh, the payday loans people need that money.” It’s a lot easier having these lobbyists give hundreds of thousands of dollars to my opponents who’ll run millions of dollars in negative ads making up all sorts of silly stuff about me and run it on TV.

It’s a lot easier to back off that. Folks, I didn’t get in that [garbled] and I don’t think you gave up a week of your time to be representing your home area and…your temporary cities ’cause you were gonna back up. You know, your job…[applause]

And you know something? I don’t even really care if you’re wrong. The young man…over here, that, that we had the short moment about Bush and Blunt. So be it. You know…[applause]

If you’re…you gotta be saucy and you gotta be tough and you gotta be sassy. It’s, it’s [applause] You are not going home as the same people that arrived. You are not the same person tomorrow you are today. [applause] You…you do not have to accept…you do not have to accept the reality that our generation has given you. You have an opportunity to define your own new reality. [cheers] Please do it. [applause] Thank you. [applause]