What they're saying…

Here are excerpts from recent editorials in Missouri newspapers:

Oct. 8

The Kansas City Star, on Frances Semler:

Frances Semler has waited long enough to make a choice: Pursue her personal interest in the self-anointed, frequently armed border patrols of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps or promote the greater good of Kansas City.

We urge her to opt off the volunteer Kansas City Board of Parks and Recreation Commissioners.

That would allow any one of dozens of qualified Kansas Citians to fill her seat without alienating major portions of our community or threatening this area's chances to host large, well-respected conventions.

To recap: Parks commissioners hold prestigious public posts that protect and enhance our proud heritage of fine public parks and boulevards. The board oversees a major part of what makes this city shine as a place to live and raise families. A board member should not create unnecessary angst, threats to cancel conventions or an unwelcome affiliation with a group that takes the law into its own hands. ...

The problem is Kansas City's good image is tainted by appearances here of the freelance Minutemen, all due to Semler's prominent appointment.

Mayor Mark Funkhouser ought to be thinking hard about how much damage he wishes to inflict on this city's reputation by sticking with his appointee, one he admits that he didn't properly vet.

Funkhouser's latest excuse, that he's supporting diversity of views by retaining Semler, doesn't wash. No single appointee should threaten this area's chances to host conventions of the National Council of La Raza, the NAACP and possibly more.

Semler is free to advance her interest in the Minutemen, just not at the expense of our community's good name, reputation or future business.

Oct. 8

Springfield News-Leader, on Attorney General Jay Nixon:

It took him a few days, but Attorney General Jay Nixon did the right thing.

After coming under criticism for using his taxpayer-provided vehicle for campaign purposes, Nixon, a Democrat running for governor, has backtracked from his original defensiveness and pledged to reimburse the state from his campaign coffers for the use of that vehicle since the time his campaign for governor began.

It's a tough thing for a politician to admit fault when criticized by his opponents, but one of the things that separates Nixon from some politicians in this state is his occasional willingness to do just that.

Nixon behaved similarly last year when he returned a campaign donation from Ameren, a company he was in the middle of investigating.

As he did this time, Nixon took too long to make the right decision, perhaps a sign that it's not so much the right thing, but the public's reaction to bad news that navigates his moral compass.

But in both cases, after first responding defensively, Nixon eventually made the proper decision.

That's a stark contrast to his gubernatorial opponent, Gov. Matt Blunt, who seems to follow the Karl Rove-ian philosophy of ''never retreat!''

When confronted with the news that his chief of staff used public resources (e-mail) for political purposes and then improperly disposed of those public documents, Blunt indicated that there was no such law that applied to e-mails as public documents.

Once it became clear to him that e-mails are, indeed, public records, he has yet to indicate publicly that the policies in his office have changed or will change one iota.

That sends a message to the public that Blunt thinks he's above the law.

None of our public officials should behave as though they are above the law.

We're pleased that Nixon, for one, has come to recognize that reality.