Ambassador John Bolton addressed Missouri Boys State on Tuesday, June 15th. After his speech he took questions from the audience for almost an hour. This is the final part of the transcript of that question and answer session.
Question: ...Now, I notice you've been putting down the current administration quite a bit. [crosstalk] I recall...
Ambassador Bolton: Not really, I haven't even gotten started yet.
Question: Oh, okay, well,[applause, cheers]...
Now, now going back to two thousand three when we went into the Iraq war, if I recall, you and the Bush administration supported the Iraq war quite substantially. Now, what is your justification for going into the war since they had no nuclear weapons and then themselves had no threat to the United States as a whole? [applause, cheers]...
Ambassador John Bolton addressed Missouri Boys State on Tuesday, June 15th. After his speech he took questions from the audience for almost an hour. This is the second part of that question and answer session.
....Question: ...In recent years we've seen how or recent weeks we've seen how oil dependence can hurt us environmentally. And in your speech you talked about how the Middle East acquiring nuclear weapons could lead to higher gas prices, but my question is, how, uh, is oil dependence, particularly foreign oil dependence crippling our national defense by placing our dollars in the hands of governments responsible for harboring terrorists?
Ambassador Bolton: Well, I think, uh, given that we've got global markets in oil, uh, you, you can see that the, uh, the countries that produce the bulk of it and that form the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries or OPEC, uh, have a, have a disproportionate ef, effect on, uh, on the world's economy and, and really on the world's politics simply because they've got oil in the ground. My own view is that it would be a lot better for the United States, uh, to drill in, uh, our territorial waters and on our soil and, uh, if we're gonna pay high gasoline prices let's at least pay it to ourselves. Now I [applause], I think [cheers], now, we're, we're, uh, we're missing the President's speech tonight or maybe it comes on shortly about, uh, what, what he now plans to do about this leak in, uh, the Gulf of Mexico. And I don't, I don't doubt it's a severe ecological problem. Uh, but I am worried that we're gonna get carried away on this. This, this leak, uh, was, uh, was something that obviously nobody foresaw and that, and that, uh, was so severe that it overcame any number of redundant, uh, devices that were designed to prevent exactly, uh, what has happened. There's no doubt we need to do more on it. But if the conclusion is that we're simply gonna turn away from oil before we have, uh, substitutes that are, uh, that are in the same cost range we're gonna cripple the United States economy. Uh, and I think you've got to be very clear eyed here that despite the impact of this spill, uh, that it would be a lot better, uh, to find ways to drill that are more ecologically sensitive, uh, and that don't contain this risk. Why are we drilling in one mile deep ocean territories when we could drill on the North Slope of Alaska, uh, with far fewer environmental risks? [applause] I, I'm not here defend British Petroleum, uh, or what they've done as a consequence of this, I'm certainly not here to defend the U.S. government's response, which I think has been uncoordinated, late, and, uh, obviously ineffective. [applause, cheers] What I am saying is you cannot let one accident, no matter how serious, uh, uh, cause us in a kind of emotional rush, uh, to give up the capabilities that we have in this country. Because if we put more limits on drilling in the Gulf of Mexico or in offshore regions in other part of the country, uh, we're simply gonna have other countries open up for more drilling, uh, and we will be buying an even larger percentage of oil and natural gas from overseas. Uh, which I don't think is in our interest. So, uh, as bad as this spill is and it is bad and it's probably gonna get worse, uh, we need to take a deep breath, clean it up, plug the hole, and keep drilling for oil in our own, in our own backyard. [applause]...
Ambassador John Bolton addressed Missouri Boys State on Tuesday, June 15th. After his speech he took questions from the audience for almost an hour. This is the first part of that question and answer session.
Question: ...My question for you, sir, tonight is about global isolationism. And since the end of the Monroe Doctrine at the end of World War Two the U.S. has become increasingly involved in foreign affairs. Now, when the U.S. does not get involved in some crisis going on in the world, such as Darfur, we're criticized for violating human rights, not doing anything about it. But if we are involved in something, such as Iraq or Afghanistan, we're criticized for getting involved in other countries' affairs. How and when should the U.S. get involved in foreign affairs and how can we do it correctly?
Ambassador Bolton: Well, it's a, it's a complex question but I think what has to guide American foreign policy fundamentally, fundamentally is the perception of American interest. And, uh, you can obviously disagree about, uh, what a national security interest of the United States is. But, I think it means fundamentally protecting, uh, Americans, protecting friends and allies, protecting, uh, our ability to deal in the international, uh, economy of the world without interference. The United States really has, uh, uh, surprisingly limited foreign policy goals, except when it's threatened. We don't have territorial ambitions, uh, we don't have religious or political ideological ambitions, uh, all we really want to do is, uh, engage in our own business and, and trade with others and have them, uh, uh, keep to their own affairs as well. It has been our lot for the last century though to have to respond to threats, one after the other, uh, that we have faced, uh, because, uh, be, because of the, uh, threats that we saw to our interests and values and, and, uh, to those of our friends. So, I think fundamentally, uh, you have to look on a very practical case by case basis, uh, as to what's in America's interest and what's not in America's interest. And it is almost inevitably the case that whatever we do, uh, we're gonna be criticized, as you say. Uh, that, that's why, uh, I think, I think we have to be, uh, a kind of inner directed country. I don't think we can listen to the criticisms of, uh, people in other countries. I think we have to look at what's in our interest, uh, and make a decision how we're gonna protect those interests which can include the interests of allies, uh, around the world. Uh, otherwise you, you, you're engaged in a very abstract foreign policy that ultimately doesn't protect, uh, America's interests. And I think that's a, a very real risk, this is not a partisan comment, this is a purely objective comment, that's a very real risk about the current administration. I don't think it appreciates, uh, some of the threats we face, uh, internationally. I don't think it's prepared to take the steps that need to be taken to protect our interests, uh, and at the same time it has a very hazy view, uh, of America's exceptional role, uh, in the world at large. And I think as long as, uh, that view persists that our adversaries will draw the appropriate conclusions, uh, and challenges to our interests around the world will grow. [applause]...
Ambassador John Bolton on stage in Hendricks Hall for Boys State at the University of Central Missouri.
Missouri Secretary of State Robin Carnahan (D) addressed Boys State and swore in the elected Boys State office holders tonight in a ceremony in Hendricks Hall on the campus of the University of Central Missouri.
Greeting the clerks of the Boys State General Assembly after being escorted into the hall.
Secretary of State Robin Carnahan (D): ....Oftentimes the goals that we see and the things that we know we want to do we can't reach in one step. But we know we can start in that direction and after a series of steps and commitment and being dedicated and being persistent that we can reach that goal. And so I hope as you wind down your time at Boys State you'll do that with a renewed sense of purpose, some understanding about yourself, about your community, about you can be leaders in that community. And I hope each of you will go home and try to figure out how you can make a difference. To look around in your community, at things that you can help make better.
Martin Luther King said something many years ago that has stuck with me through my life and I hope you'll remember this. He said, "Every one of us ought to believe in something. And believe in that thing so fervently that we're ready to stand up for it 'til the end of our days." Think about that. Think about what that is for you. What is it you believe in? What is it that you're passionate about? What is it that you are ready to stand up for 'til the end of your days? I hope that you'll spend some time in the next little while before you leave and through this summer finding out what that is. Because folks, our state and our nation is depending on you to do just that.
Ambassador John Bolton [applause] Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you. Well, it's a great, uh, pleasure to be here with you this evening. I have a, uh, lot of contacts, uh, with the state of Missouri. My wife was born in Kansas City. [applause, cheers] Uh, I have a lot of friends, uh, from Missouri. I was, uh, preceded as, uh, U.S. ambassador to the U.N. by Jack Danforth, uh, who was a great senator from this state, held many state offices besides. One of my, uh, law school classmates, uh, worked for Jack Danforth when he was Attorney General, uh, of Missouri and then went with, uh, Senator Danforth when he went to Washington. Uh, and he's now, uh, an associate justice of the Supreme Court, Clarence Thomas, one of the great, uh, judges, I think, we'll see in American history...
Ambassador John Bolton speaking at Missouri Boys State from the stage on Hendricks Hall on the campus of the University of Central Missouri.
Ambassador John Bolton addressed Missouri Boys State this evening in acceptance of the annual George W. Lehr Memorial Speakers Chair. His prepared remarks touched on proliferation issues, North Korea, and Iran. He then took questions from the audience for almost an hour on American foreign policy, diplomacy, the United Nations, oil and energy policy, Iran's nuclear program, neo-conservatism, his recess appointment as Ambassador to the United Nations, weapons of mass destruction and the Iraq War, and Israel.
Ambassador John Bolton speaking at Boys State from the stage at Hendricks Hall on the campus of the University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg.
The professional journalists at Boys State again had me talk to students in the Journalism School about blogging on Show Me Progress. I tried to be coherent and interesting with mixed success - and they asked good questions about what we do.
Wait? Could it be? Yes! RBH is famous and up on the big screen!
Students in the Journalism School gather for the session on blogging.
Missouri State Treasurer Clint Zweifel (D) at Boys State on the campus of the University of Central Missouri on Monday evening.
On Monday evening Missouri State Treasurer Clint Zweifel addressed Boys State in Hendricks Hall on the campus of the University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg:
State Treasurer Clint Zweifel (D): ....And I really want to talk to you about the experience of serving. Because one of the things I am most passionate about, for every party and for everyone in this, in, who's young, is that public service matters. And I want to let you know what a rewarding experience it is to be able to serve. And how good people, and good young people are going to make the difference. And that's going to be the critical difference upon where Missouri is in the next few decades and where the United States is....
Missouri Governor Jay Nixon (D) addressed Boys State participants at the University of Central Missouri on Sunday evening.
Governor Jay Nixon (D): [....] First of all, I think we have to really focus on making sure that education really matters in this state. And when I say education matters I focus for, for talented students like y'all, not just on, you know, getting out of high school. Everybody here is gonna graduate from high school and do it next year and do it real well and all that sort of stuff. But, it's what do you do after that...
Missouri Governor Jay Nixon (D) speaking at Boys State on the campus of the University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg on Sunday evening.
Missouri Governor Jay Nixon (D) has participated as a keynote speaker at Boys State almost every year since 1993, coinciding with the beginning of his sixteen year tenure as Attorney General. The Governor clearly relishes the freewheeling (yet respectful) atmosphere and the frank give and take of the question and answer session. A case in point, his answer tonight to a question on Arizona's recently enacted SB 1070:
....Question: ...What's your personal opinion re, regarding the immigration law recently signed by the Governor of the State of Arizona? [crosstalk] Thank you very much.
Governor Jay Nixon (D): Um, Governor Brewer signed two laws. Um, the first one that she signed, uh, I, I have serious problems with. I mean, which, if you're gonna require people in the United States of America to, to, show their identification papers just because they're walkin' around, I mean, in order for them to have the right to walk through, a city square or walk through a park. That you could be stopped and demanded to prove in that setting that, that, that you're, you know, a citizen or you're American or whatever. I, I think that is way over the top. I, I, man, oh man, I, I [applause], it, it . [inaudible] We need to think about people working together. We need to increase the number of people of all, we, we, I mean, the Statue of Liberty was given to us by France as a gift because we were the melting pot of the world. I mean, everyone of you, when you talk to your mom or your dad or your grandma or your grandpa, they'll talk about how they were German or how about they were English or how they were Swiss or Norwegian or whatever. And, and in one or two generations everybody wants to ignore all that, and act like we're just these, these Americans things. We have great roots all around the world and the future of the economic engine of the world is not gonna be sitting here in, in Henry County in the middle of Missouri bunkered down. We've gotta, we gotta join this new world.
So, the first piece, um, that, of that law I, I obviously somewhat mildly disagree with. [laughter] Um, [inaudible] they cleaned it up a little bit. I do believe that, that for national security purposes, uh, we need to have secure borders, uh, we need to make sure that we know who's crossing those borders, and we're certainly entitled if somebody comes into our country at in particular time, or if someone is here illegally, to, to deal with those issues and, and to, to send those folks back to their country of origin. Um, you know, so , like I say, I think that, that Arizona took a political solution in which they tried to be the toughest in the world that I think crossed a line that's not a line we should cross in America. I think basic civil rights, basic individual freedom is extremely important and, and, and just because it's, it's after one group today doesn't mean that it's, it's not gonna be after another group tomorrow.
I mean, the Constitution is a great document. Probably the best document ever written, but after it was in power, it was in for only a few short years, they figured out they forgot some stuff. So they came back and they did the Bill of Rights and I would just recommend to y'all, you know, politicians run around, hold up the Constitution all the time. Don't forget to hold up those first, those first ten Bill of Rights, too. The freedom of press, freedom of religion, you know, freedom to counsel, you know freedom to, you know, the freedom to bear arms, I mean, you know, you don't, you know. [cheers, applause] I think in that first piece Arizona crossed the line....
We'll write more on Governor Nixon's opening remarks and other portions of the question and answer session in a subsequent post.
Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster speaking at Boys State on the campus of the University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg.
This is the second and final part of the transcript of the question and answer session at Boys State with Attorney General Chris Koster on Saturday evening:
....Question: ...What kind of strategies do you use whenever you're building a prosecution?
Attorney General Koster: What kind of strategies that, do I use when I'm building a prosecution? Uh, I start, so it's a legal question, are you planning to go to law school?
Question: ...That was one of my plans.
Attorney General Koster: Everybody does it differently. I, uh, learn the case file. Tend to, I want to go see the crime scene. I'll always go walk the crime scene because I always learn something, uh, by walking a crime scene. And then, actually, I start with my closing argument, so I start with the end. Uh, I don't write out the closing argument completely, but I want to know what is the goal, where am I gonna to get to in front of the jury. And so I, I want to know what that story is and how it's gonna be told and how it impacts, uh, the jury in their ability to decide the issue. Then once I have a sense of what that closing argument is, I work my way backward and try and figure out how am I going to provide the jury with the, uh, the information that they need in order to listen to that story I want to tell them. So I, I work my way backwards.
Attorney General Chris Koster on the stage for Missouri Boys State in Hendricks Hall on the campus of the University of Central Missouri on Saturday evening.
After his keynote speech on Saturday evening Attorney General Chris Koster took questions from the Boys State audience:
Attorney General Chris Koster (D): ...Begin over here?
Question: Um, as you mentioned, newspapers are really important to you, uh, but that, but media has really expanded and has become so prevalent in national politics. Um, how much of a role do you think image plays in appointing officials? And, um, do you think this issue of image affects other issues like experience?
Attorney General Koster : How much does image affect elected officials?
Question: How, like, media has become really prevalent.
Attorney General Koster: Right.
Question: So, the image of a candidate, how he come, appears the public has become really important and do you think that, that has affected other issues like experience?
Attorney General Koster: I think that image became important fifty years ago. Do you want me to go back to the, uh, let me get, I'm gonna go to this, this seems to be a little clearer. I think image became important fifty years ago, uh, as soon as the Kennedy Nixon debates took place. Um, maybe a little bit before that when President Eisenhower started holding, uh, televised press conferences. But I think the biggest change, honestly, has to do with the expansion of cable on networks and the prevalence of television cameras, not just filming brief portions of the political day and putting them on the five thirty news, as they did when Walter Cronkite, uh, broadcast the five thirty news. But, the television cameras that now exist immediately outside of every committee room's door, so that as soon as the committee chairman and the ranking member of the committee come out of there they are almost expected to say, uh, divergent and politically polarized things. And those things that they are expected to say has created a culture where politicians tend to fall and the back room camaraderie that used to exist, uh, is no longer there, like when Bob Michael was head of the House or Tip O'Neill was there, uh, back in the seventies. That camaraderie is gone and it's the prevalence, I think, of having the television camera that is stuck in a politician's face all the time that as much as anything has, has created that unfortunate circumstance.
Missouri Attorny General Chris Koster was the keynote speaker on Saturday evening for the opening session of Boys State on the campus of the University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg.
Attorney General Chris Koster on the stage in Hendricks Hall at the University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg.
Attorney General Chris Koster (D): [applause] Good evening, it's an honor to be with all of you, here in this exciting week. I was looking over the list of statewide elected officials who are going to come and speak with you over the next several days - and the list is certainly impressive. Secretary of State Carnahan will be here, Treasurer Clint Zweifel, Governor Jay Nixon and others have all taken time from their schedule to come and spend a few hours with you. Why do we do it? Not just why do we do it, but why do we consider it an honor to do it? Because all of us, the Governor, myself, all the statewide office holders firmly believe that somewhere in this room is a state representative, a state senator, a U.S. Congressman, a United States Senator, a governor. Sitting somewhere in this room. Not a Boys State Governor, a real governor, the kind that lives in Jefferson City. And if we Missourians are lucky, the kind of man who learns early in his life to keep his ego in check, to devote his time to quiet and patient study, who learns how to make prudent and careful decisions, to put others before himself, and to lead with a proper mix of head and heart, and to guide his fellow citizens forward. Somewhere in this room that man is sitting. And while we statewide officials come here for many reasons, one of the reasons we come here is to talk to him...
Today is the first day of the week-long American Legion Boys State of Missouri program on the campus of the University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg. Approximately 1000 boys from across Missouri will participate this week. This is the third year we've been able to cover the session.
Warrensburg American Legion Post 131 member Jim Whitfield, a volunteer at Missouri Boys State for over fifty years, helps direct participants at registration.
The Boys State staff is very efficient at implementing the logistics of registering close to 1000 Boys State citizens.
Warrensburg American Legion Post 131 member Gary Grigsby assists a Boys State citizen, directing him to the line for registration.
And of course, we'll be covering the statewide office holders and others in public service who make up the session's impressive list of keynote speakers:
...Question: ...Just as there are many different personalities and things here, uh, what type of personalities do you encounter, uh, in the House of Representatives and, uh, in the Senate?
Congressman Roy Blunt: Uh, the personalities, you know one of the great things about, I don't know about the Senate, though I do work with the Senate a lot, I have worked there like I work in the House. You know I, I actually have had a, again, jobs in the House where I, I really had a chance to get to know the members, both our side and the other side, always thinking what Democrats can help us. I used to say my job in the House was the, as the Republican whip, was to know the Republicans in the, in Wa..., in the House of Representatives better than anybody else in the world knew them. Uh, and to know the Democrats better than any other Republican knew the Democrats. And, you know, it's, it's a, it's, it's a diverse wonderful process, uh, sometimes the results aren't all that wonderful, but democracy's a wonderful thing. And in the House I, I, there, there, you're gonna find some people in any group of four hundred and thirty-five people that are not well motivated, that do bad things. And, and hopefully that should and will be punished for that. Uh, but virtually everybody there is there I, I'm convinced, for a good purpose. Uh, it's just, uh, that's what the great debate about the future of the country is, is, you know is, are we for big government or are we for trusting people? I, I'm gonna be on the trusting people side. You know, every, uh, every day in, in this job you, you're likely to cast one vote if not many votes that are about do you want more freedom and less government or more government and less freedom. And I try to always be on the side of more freedom and less government. But also on the side of what government should do, government needs to do very well, instead of just say we're gonna do this, get all the applause you can for that and then walk away and announce what you're gonna do next. Instead of really doing what you're committed to do. Okay?...
....Question: ...I was wondering how you feel about the huge shift, the political left in the two thousand eight election and what you think about how the Republican Party is gonna, uh, react to that in the two thousand ten election.
Congressman Roy Blunt: Well, I, I'm running for the Senate as a Republican in two thousand ten so I obviously must have some optimism about that. [laughter] I think in, uh, I think in two thousand and eight, you know, with the war, other things had, had led the, the, the, to the level of dissatisfaction. Uh, interestingly if you start in two thousand and eight you wouldn't have thought that Iraq would not be an issue by the end of that year. That the surge would have such results that really nobody was talking about Iraq in, in a way they were, uh, in January by the time you got to November. Uh, but I, I think people are now looking at change, this idea of change, you know, when, when a candidate runs for public office and promises change, who's not for that? You know, and if somebody at your school said we're gonna change the school , and that's all, the only information you have, and you're allowed to decide that it's gonna change exactly how you want it to change, you're, you're really inclined for that to happen. Almost nobody is totally satisfied by the way things are. That's, that's the way we were made, we were made to want to change things. But I think people are seeing that the specifics of that change, whether it's healthcare, or energy, or tax policy, or, or, or, or our, or our policy related to other countries in the world, I think there's gonna be a desire, as I told, as I answered the first question...asked, I think it's gonna be a desire to get more balance back into the system. I think this is an opportunity for my side, uh, to talk about, uh, the principles of, that are, that are foundational to the side of our debate and our country to believe that government should be the last resort rather than the first resort. I think people are gonna be pretty uncomfortable within a couple of years with the idea that the federal government now owns car companies and has somebody that decides how much money people make, the so called pay czar who was announced this week. So, I, I think that there's gonna be a, one of the wonderful things about our system is its ability to recalibrate. It's ability to get back to where the system itself begins to control itself. And every time the system, in the history of the country, has swung too far one way the American voters come right back in and usually pretty quickly and say, "Wait a minute. You know, I'm not, uh, I, I'm not totally unhappy with the way things are going in Washington, but I don't want just one side to be able to do whatever they want to do." And then there'll be another group that says, "I am totally unhappy, uh, with the way things are going in Washington." And, and of course, they're, they weigh in and, in a way that shifts things, shifts things back, uh, to the middle as well.
Over here...
Congressman Roy Blunt at Missouri Boys State in Warrensburg on the campus of the University of Central Missouri on June 13, 2009.
On Thursday evenings during Missouri Boys State the Missouri Secretary of State traditionally takes part in the ceremonial swearing in of Boys State citizens who were elected by their peers to the offices of Boys State governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, auditor, treasurer, and attorney general. After being escorted into Hendricks Hall by designated committees from the Boys State House and Senate for their joint session Robin Carnahan addressed brief remarks to the assembled participants before swearing in the officeholders.
Missouri Secretary of State Robin Carnahan administers the oath of office to Boys State executive office holders.
State Representative Stephen Webber (D-23), a Missouri Boys State alumni and staffer spoke to Boys State participants Tuesday night in Hendricks Hall on the campus of the University of Central Missouri.
Missouri State Representative Stephen Webber (D-23)
Representative Stephen Webber: ...Boys State has been a part of my life the last nine years, not just in the weeks I've spent here on this campus, but really in the lessons that I've learned here. And I apply them each and every day.
I'm very, very honored and grateful to have an opportunity to address you today. It's meaningful to me and I appreciate all that you, and all the members of the Boys State staff, and the Legionnaires, my fellow Legionnaires have done. I appreciate it. I'm grateful.
You all have an opportunity to hear from a tremendous variety of speakers. You just heard the Governor of the State of Missouri. You're hearing other speakers this week who are of state and national prominence. And it can be difficult to try to figure out in this short period of time what I can say that would maybe leave some sort of mark. Or sort of inspire somebody in this room to something. So what I decided to do tonight is to tell you a story. It's one story, it's a hard story, but I think by the end of it you'll understand why the principles that Boys State stands for means so much to me and why I'm committed to public service...
Former Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage.
...Question: ...I was wondering, you talked about the situation in Asia and Obama's 'soft power'. I was wondering what you think is the best source for Obama in regards to foreign policy, especially tensions in Asia?
Richard Armitage: Well I think, uh, you'll see Mr. Obama go to Asia here shortly. First of all, let's see what he's done on Asia so far. He sent Hillary Clinton out there first [audience reaction], her first trip, which as normally for a Secretary of State, going to Europe. She went there and it was excellent signal to our Asian friends. Second, Mr. Obama, who lived in Indonesia for a time, is looking forward to going back, probably at the time of, of the APEC meeting which is held, I think, this year in Singapore. I can't remember where. But anyway, Mr. Obama will be, will be going. Uh, third, he has dramatically increased our interaction, uh, with Asian societies. In the last two years of Mr. Bush's administration the Assistant Secretary for East Asia focused almost entirely on North Korea - this is Ambassador Hill who's now in Iraq - to the exclusion of the others. And there were all kinds of stories in all the Asian press about America is passing over Asia etcetera, etcetera. Now this is one of the reasons that Secretary Gates was sent by Mr. Obama to Singapore to give this speech where he said we're a resident nation in Asia. So I think he's doing fantastically well for Asia now that we're back on track with Japan and South Korea and China on the six party talks. I think Mr. Obama ought to continue his personal interaction but not overlook the tenets of the Hippocratic Oath. You know what the Hippocratic Oath tells you to do? First, do no harm. It's what doctors are cautioned, first, do no harm. And this is what Mr. Obama should do first. Do no harm. And when he goes to Japan, when he goes to Korea, when he goes to China soon I think you'll see him do a hell of a lot of good for us. I'm pretty enthusiastic about his Asia team and his own views of Asia, not least of which because he used to live in Indonesia. [applause]...
Governor Jay Nixon addressed the participants at Missouri Boys last evening in Hendricks Hall on the campus of the University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg. After his opening remarks he took questions for over fifty minutes in a session, much like those that he has participated in at Boys State over the past fifteen years, that was freewheeling and addressed a wide number of subjects.
Governor Jay Nixon (D) at Missouri Boys State.
One of the evening's remarkable exchanges was on the subject of compassion:
...Question: ...Down where I come from...we have a crisis center that's actually having a really rough time. I've witnessed the director actually give food out of her own pantry to make sure someone has food for a complete month. Or give money out of her own pocket to pay for someone's utility or rent bill. My question is, if anything, what are you planning to do to help out the local crises centers around the state?
Governor Jay Nixon: Yeah, I mean. First of all, [pause] it makes me feel good that you know.
Question: Okay.
Governor Jay Nixon: 'Cause there's a whole bunch of subjects, and you know, goofballs all across the state [audience reaction], that don't know. Okay? First of all, you should not under, underestimate how valuable it is to have that basic sense of compassion for your fellow human being. And that understanding that certain people get bad breaks, okay? Whether it's being born with less skills than some of you, or getting t-boned by some car at an intersection, or losing a job through no fault of their own. I mean, you shouldn't be in this, you shouldn't have come up here for this week and I shouldn't be doing what I, what I'm doing if you don't have a basic sense of compassion for those who have not been as lucky at this time in life as you have. [applause]
If basic human compassion ever goes out of this country or this state then I'll be as, as wild as the guy that I, I tried to inspire to, to revolution over here...
