Week 49: Nixon's Grade

NIXON'S WEEK 49 GRADE: B +

Governor Nixon was buoyant and upbeat during his year-end round of interviews with television stations from around the state on Thursday. Despite some acknowledged setbacks, he seemed satisfied with the position of his administration twelve months in, yet energized about his sophomore year legislative agenda. He scored a easy win by getting a property tax break through the Housing Commission and while lawmakers aren't saying much about last week's duel economic proposals, the Governor won mostly positive media out of the community college and high-tech job announcements. He even played sports commentator by suggesting Mizzou should consider conference hopping to the Big Ten. And while he indicated to me he's not a big fan of the SurveyUSA or Rasmussen Reports polling methods, both groups offered the Governor better news with bolstered numbers this week. Even a few GOPers at a holiday party last week, begrudging and privately acknowledged they are satisfied with Nixon thusfar. "He comes out of that old conservative Democratic Jefferson County tradition, and so far, he's mostly governed in that way," said one Republican. Despite all that, there are concerns among some Democrats about Nixon's campaign promises, who he surrounds himself with and the overall vision for his term. (More on that later). But for now, while those worries are considerable, they're mostly quiet and private.