Week 28: Nixon's Grade

NIXON'S WEEK 28 GRADE: C

With Gov. Nixon out of the country in the Middle East for the first half of the week, much of the buzz surrounded the way he went about it -- in not notifying Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder before he left. When Nixon returned from pumping up soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq on Wednesday, he was greeted with the news that a Senate committee would probe why his Department of Natural Resources withheld a report on high levels of E.coli in Lake of the Ozarks. Nixon has said the report should have been released when requested -- but what's unclear is if he thinks anyone should lose their job over the decision. A date for the hearings have not yet been set, and some have blamed the incident on DNR holdovers from the Blunt administration. How Nixon handles the investigation will give voters a window into his commitment to "transparency and accountability." To wind up the week, Nixon played hoops in the Show-Me State Games, where the Columbia Missourian notes he went 15 of 25 from the free-throw line. So he's no Steve Nash. But any pol willing to publicly burn a little sweat while sporting a bright yellow T with red Nikes, at least deserves a hat tip.