Jay Nixon's office has just released a youtube video in which Nixon addresses the death of Michael Brown and the ongoing situation in Ferguson. Some of it is boilerplate and he's clearly reading the speech, some of it is clueless but some of it is surprising.
Nixon knows he's in trouble politically, and he's clearly trying to make a recovery attempt here in a controlled studio setting where he isn't fumbling and bumbling like he's done in his live pressers.
While I think he's still clueless about the police response - he badly needed to apologize to the many peaceful protestors and community members who have been brutalized by tear gas, LRAD devices and rubber bullets and the gross overpolicing of the neighborhood - he's very clear that he wants justice for the Brown family.
He begins with this:
Ten days ago, a police officer shot and killed Michael Brown in broad daylight. Since then the world has watched a community engulfed in grief, anger, fear, at times violence For the family mourning the loss of a son it has been a profound personal tragedy.
Further in the video:
Second, a vigorous prosecution must now be pursued. The democratically elected St. Louis County prosecutor, the Attorney General of the United States, each have a job to do. Their obligation to achieve justice in the shooting death of Michael Brown must be carried out thoroughly, promptly, and correctly and I call upon them to meet those expectations.
I find the second excerpt interesting. Surely Nixon has been briefed on the status of the investigation thus far and it doesn't sound like he's buying the cop's story that has been put forward that Brown charged the officer. He's also sending a clear public message to McCulloch which is almost a warning. He sounds pretty firm and a little pissed off in this passage (as pissed off as Jay Nixon gets, at least).
I've found Jay Nixon to be badly wanting throughout for the last week and a half. I think he's wrong about the police response but at least I don't think he's being jerked around about the investigation and I don't think he'll let this be covered up. It's not enough but it's better.