Former Gov. Holden in Columbia tonight
Former Democratic Gov. Bob Holden will be in Columbia tonight to hold a forum the election — specifically, how Barack Obama lost the Missouri vote to Republican John McCain, but Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jay Nixon cleaned house with Republican candidate Kenny Hulshof.
Holden's appearance is part of the Holden Public Policy Forum, which is usually held at Webster University, where he is currently a member of the faculty. The forum has included guests such as former U.S. Secretary of State Madeline Albright and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, and questions are taken from the audience.
The forum will be held at the Missouri School Board Association Building, which is located at 2601 Bernadette Place, and will begin at 6:30. Refreshments will be served.
Not to steal Holden's thunder, but Politics Watch wants to know what you think about tonight's topic. Why could Nixon pull it off in Missouri, while Obama, who beat the pants off of McCain in the election, couldn't?
Here are some things to consider when pondering this question:
-Nixon had literally campaigned for three years before Election Day, and, as the state's Attorney General since 1993, had rather solid name recognition throughout the state.
-This was the first election since 1956 in which Missouri didn't pick the winner of the presidential race. In that span of time, there were more Democrats elected than Republicans.
-Despite Nixon's win, and the acquisition of statewide offices by other Dems, the Republicans made gains in the Missouri Senate and held onto their majority in the House.
-Put simply (and MSU political science professor George Connor can back me up on this one) Nixon is not exactly a very liberal Democrat, most certainly not as liberal as Obama.