Holden on Nixon

Former Gov. Bob Holden said he sees parallels between the budget problems Gov. Jay Nixon faces and the cuts that unraveled his own administration more than five years ago, but also warned that Nixon's ultimate success will primarily be driven by factors beyond his control.

In a wide-ranging interview Friday, Holden told The Notebook Nixon's political position won't matter much until July or August of 2012 and noted that Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder has done an "effective job" at rehabilitating his image to prepare for a potential challenge.

Q & A HIGHLIGHTS with HOLDEN:

On Nixon's Ability To Fulfill Campaign Promises:
"Like every candidate, there's what you say during the campaign and when you get to office, it's a sobering experience. I think you see the parallels with my administration. I made the decision to try to raise revenues and it wasn't popular. I don't see any indication (he'll take the same route)."

On Whether Nixon Will Be Able To Expand Medicaid:
"If Jay articulates why he's going to do what he's doing effectively, I hope he can. In the short run, it doesn't look pretty for the state of Missouri for the next few years."

On Whether Nixon Will Be Judged By Healthcare Expansion:
"No. That's just part of it. At the end of the day, it will be whether Missourians have jobs, or will have a job, or jobs are being created. That'll be primarily what he's judged on."

On Where He'd Like To See State Dollars Flow:
"This is self-serving, but I'd invest more dollars in plant and life sciences and, of course, education, with more accountability. I think sometimes Democrats are good at asking for more money for education, but not demanding results."

On The Impact of E.Coli-Gate:
"Time will tell. I haven't seen an administration yet that never had any problems. But I think people will look at the larger picture."

On Whether Nixon Can Control the State's Economic Climate:
"Not really. He can control it to an extent. But so much of it is dictated by national policy and global economics. You try to put as many pieces in place as you can. But many times the jobs don't come back until 6 to 12 months after the recovery. What Jay's got to hope is that early 2012, probably by July or August, people have the sense that things are starting to grow. I think there's a chance of that. I hope there's a good chance of that. He's going to be defined by what's happening in the economy at that time and how he's managed it."

On Nixon's Declining Poll Position:
"Part of that is built on the initial good feeling people have of a new Governor taking the job. The second part is having to deal with the budget situation they've been handed. When you are in turbulent economic times, you are going to see those numbers fluctuate. They will only begin to matter once your opponent is defined. Then, we'll see how solid the numbers are."

On Nixon's Potential 2012 Challenger:
"Peter (Kinder) has done a more effective job rehabilitating an image as I've seen in this state. He spends a lot of time in St. Louis. Just take a look at his record as a State Senator from Cape Girardeau. He's moved from a very conservative social agenda to a broader economic agenda. He's been every helpful to me on things. And give him credit for his positioning."

FMR. GOVERNOR HOLDEN REACTS

SAYS BAD POLICY DECISIONS, ETHICAL LAPSES PROMPTED BLUNT'S EXIT

"I'm not sure eliminating 100,000 people from health care is an accomplishment."

Former Governor Bob Holden said he believes poor polling numbers combined with bad policy decisions and ethical lapses caused Governor Matt Blunt to not run for re-election.

In an interview with the KY3 Political Notebook, Holden said he did not see any parallels between Blunt's early exit and his own fate. "People disagreed with some decisions I made, but there were never any discussions of ethical lapses. From the Department of Agriculture to the e-mails, ethical problems occurred there," Holden said.

Holden said Blunt's statement that he accomplished everything he wanted to do didn't seem to hold weight. "I'm sure the lack of support in polling weighted into in. And I'm sure he took into consideration the impact a tough campaign would have on his family. I'm not sure eliminating 100,000 people from health care is an accomplishment," Holden said.

Holden did note that the Democrats strategy would immediately change because of the unknown. "Jay (Nixon) will be in pretty good shape," Holden said. "If he'd been running against Blunt, the issues would've been obvious, so in that respect, it would've been easier. But whoever the Republican candidate is, will have to deal with those issues. Even though Governor Blunt won't be running himself, the candidate will have to talk about the decisions. And he didn't make them by himself," Holden said.

Holden Backs Hillary

More and more Democratic elected officials seem to be getting on the bus.

Today, a former Missouri Governor did the same.

We're talking on the "bandwagon bus" that is Hillary Clinton's march to the nomination. (We still think Obama has a real shot at knocking her off in frontrunner-fickle Iowa.)

Bob Holden announced he was backing Clinton for president today.

"This country needs change, and Hillary Clinton has the strength and experience to deliver it," Holden said in a statement. "She is uniquely qualified to hit the ground running on her first day in the White House.”


A release said Holden will serve as a Missouri Co-Chair and a member of Clinton's Education Policy Taskforce.

Bob Holden Wanted Warner for President

Former Missouri Governor Bob Holden said his first pick for President in 2008 was Mark Warner, until the former Virginia Governor announced he wasn't running late last year.

Holden tells the KY3 Political Notebook he has not made any decision on which Democratic candidate for President to endorse. He said he is trying to get most of them to speak at his public policy institute at Webster University.

"I've spoken to just about every one of them. Basically all of them have asked me for an endorsement. One just did within the last four days," Holden said.

But Holden explained that right now it is tough to lure candidates to an event that doesn't involve fundraising.

"All they are doing is raising money right now, and Missouri is not a big money state," Holden said.

Holden has attended events for Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama in Missouri, and said he has close ties to many of the candidates. But he really admired the possible candidacy of former Governor Warner.

"He took that state and turned it around, did a lot with technology. He reached across party lines, which is something I had trouble with in Missouri," Holden said.

"If Warner was in, he would've been my first choice," he said.

When I asked Holden about the reservations some Missouri Democrats have about Clinton as the potential nominee, he said Hillary had proven critics wrong before.

"They said the same comments about Hillary in rural parts of New York, and she proved them wrong. It's way too early to dismiss her here. Her national numbers look very good. Her challenge is that she has to be tough enough to be Commander in Chief, yet soft enough that people feel like they can relate to her," Holden said.

On His Relationship with Claire McCaskill

Holden said he believes Sen. Claire McCaskill's standing in Washington is rising because she's focusing her efforts on what she knows best.

Holden had kind words for his former rival and her tenure in Washington so far. "I had a chance to visit with her before she left for Iraq. She's done a good job as Senator. She's using her background as an Auditor to talk about fiscal management, which is a very important issue that resonates with people right now," Holden said.

I asked Holden if there were any remaining sour grapes with McCaskill.

"I never had a hatchet. Candidly, I didn't want it to happen," he said of the 2004 Democratic battle for Governor. "I wish it didn't happen, but I wasn't going to play to the whims of my party on certain issues. And I didn't."