Gov. Eric Greitens has finally put an end to the sham that was his 17-month term in office. He should have resigned long ago _ for the sake of the "forgotten" Missourians he cynically claimed to serve. But the truth is, Greitens could never allow his own political ambitions to take a back seat to any other interest.
Even as he resigned in disgrace Tuesday, Greitens still couldn't bury his massive ego as he tried to get in a few extra jabs at unnamed enemies who, he suggested, had plotted against him. Let the record be clear: There was no plot, no group of nefarious evildoers who had set out to drag down this mythical defender of freedom and righteousness. The only person responsible for the governor's downfall was Eric Greitens.
Had Missouri voters known in November 2016 about the sordid extramarital affair that got Greitens into so much trouble, he never would have gotten out of the starting blocks. His generous dark-money funders would have sprinted to back more worthy candidates.
Greitens persists in trying to sell the same myths upon which he built his gubernatorial bid from the early days of 2015.
Myth 1: He was a devoted family man and ex-Navy SEAL who had dedicated his life to defending America. In fact, Greitens was a military short-timer who reneged on his commitment to the SEALs once he caught the scent of political opportunity.
Myth 2: He was in this to "fight for the people of Missouri." Greitens always had his eyes on higher public office, made painfully obvious by his overzealous dark-money fundraising and his reservation of a presidential campaign website well before he had won the gubernatorial election. Greitens was in this fight for Greitens.
In his resignation remarks, he alluded to unnamed enemies out there who somehow "designed" the extramarital-affair scandal "to cause maximum damage to my family and friends" _ as if Greitens had been a devoted family man victimized by powerful forces beyond his control. His strategy has consistently been to dismiss as "tabloid trash gossip" and "lies and falsehoods" the serious allegations against him instead of accepting his personal responsibility for the damage he caused.
Greitens accused those unnamed enemies of engaging in "endless personal attacks designed to cause maximum damage to family and friends. ... It's clear that for the forces that oppose us there is no end in sight. I cannot allow those forces to continue to cause pain and difficulty for the people that I love."
Finally, the state can move forward. The low-profile Republican lieutenant governor, Mike Parson, now must scramble to establish his own political agenda and acquire the leadership skills required of the state's highest officeholder. Luckily, he doesn't have a hard act to follow.
