Let it be recorded that the first shot in the 2008 Missouri governor's race may have been fired the day before the 2006 election. That's when Missouri Attorney Gen. Jay Nixon, a Democrat who has already announced he intends to challenge Republican Gov. Matt Blunt, fired off a letter to Mr. Blunt accusing the governor of "horrific public policy."

When we see the word "horrific," we think of the World Trade Center collapse or the situation in Darfur. All Mr. Blunt did was sign off on the Missouri Gaming Commission's decision to temporarily operate a riverboat casino in Caruthersville in Pemiscot County while the casino's owners search for suitable buyers. This will permit the 286 casino employees to keep their jobs. In the Bootheel, jobs are hard to come by.