After the Bay of Pigs fiasco, Jack Kennedy apologized on national television for sanctioning the plan and was nonplused to discover that his approval rating immediately jumped ten percent.
Maybe Matt Blunt should consider that anecdote. Suppose the boy governor were to apologize for: deleting e-mails, firing Eckersley and then sliming him, lying about the existence of Eckersley memos, employing a bodyguard who shoves reporters around. And continuing to lie. OK, his numbers wouldn’t bound upwards like Kennedy’s because it wouldn’t be a sincere apology about a well intentioned mistake. But it might at least stop the hemorrhaging.
Most Missourians, little interested in the goings on in Jeff City, are as yet barely aware–if at all–of the brouhaha, but if it keeps gaining ground as it has been, it will damage an already fragile re-election effort beyond repair.
The K-C Star’s Prime Buzz issues a dire warning:
Gov. Matt Blunt is in the middle of a political meltdown that could bring down his administration.
He might not just lose next year’s election against Jay Nixon. He could get demolished.
In the face of these problems, Blunt has apologized for the unfortunate shoving incident and promised to make his e-mail records public whined that one of Mel Carnahan’s security guards once pushed a reporter. Bluntco is correct: such an incident did take place. And in fact, Carnahan’s man pushed the reporter about thirty feet! But really, Team Blunt’s complaint sounds like indignation from a third grader. “Yeah, I hit Susie, but last week Billy hit Mary. Why are you picking on me?” Like his role model, GWB, Blunt believes apologies are for sissies.
And by the way, when Carnahan’s guard shoved a reporter, Carnahan–who wasn’t already being grilled to a soot blackened wienie over anything–apologized.
There’s speculation, even from Ryan Cooper, the brother of penitentiary-bound representative Nathan Cooper (R-Cape Girardeau), that with the holiday weekend coming up, Matt Blunt will fire his chief of staff, Ed Martin, the man who did the Eckersley firing. The theory is that we’ll wake up from our turkey induced snoozes to find that Martin is gone and all is well again.
Maybe Martin is toast, maybe not. And considering how little attention the voters pay, firing him might work. Or not. But Governor Blunt should consider the possibility that he’s going to get demolished a year from now.