Greitens did right thing; time for Mo. to move on

Eric Greitens had a rough start to his governership, and it only got worse.

Actually, his troubles began long before he beat Chris Koster for Missouri's top government executive.

Greitens began his leadership with a combative and secretive style, feuding publicly with fellow Republicans, even when he had majorities in both parties. Greitens had everything he needed to move forward with a conservative agenda.

Instead, Greitens became embroiled in a pair of scandals, one involving an affair with his hairdresser in which he was accused of taking a photo of her in a compromised state without her permission. In another, he's accused of violating campaign laws as it relates to the charity he formerly led.

Greitens' announcement Tuesday, which caught many by surprise, was the right decision. Missouri government had become a soap opera drama that had paralyzed government. Additionally, it became clear that Greitens was not a person of sound character and skill to lead the state. Which is a disappointment. Greitens is a former Navy Seal, a former Rhodes Scholar, a man with all the pedigree you'd want in a politician. But his works and his words did not match the resume.

Greitens is right that the charges against him were politically driven. But that doesn't mean they weren't his fault. In his announcement, Greitens played the victim and never took responsibility for his own actions that led him to that podium. He played loose with the campaign rules, despite being advised to do things the right way, and in doing so let a campaign aide take the fall. Greitens instructed another campaign aide to use his charity's donor list for campaign purposes. On Tuesday, a judge ruled that Greitens' political nonprofit had until Friday to turn over documents to the Missouri House committee investigating allegations of misconduct. Hours later, he resigned. His resignation was part of a deal with prosecutors that felony charges would be dropped. Again, the decision to prosecute may have been politically motivated, but the governor decided to have an affair with his hair dresser (at the same time he was campaigning about integrity, family values and freedom from corruption). He chose to act in the manner, reprehensibly, that he did. His undoing was his own doing.

We agree with the comments from local lawmakers, who called his needed resignation a sad day for Missouri.

In the near term, the House committee should continue its work and file its report.

In the longer term, Missouri needs to get back to governing. It's time to set aside the drama and move forward. Lt. Gov. Mike Parson will be the new governor, and he promises to work with the legislative branch to get things done.

"With Governor Greitens' decision to resign from office, he has put the best interests of our state and all Missourians at the forefront where they belong," Parson stated in a news release. "This is a decision that will allow our state to heal and move forward from what has been a difficult time. This is an enormous responsibility serving as our state's next governor, and I am ready to fulfill the duties of the office with honor and integrity, and with a steadfast commitment to making our great state even greater for the people we are entrusted to serve."

We are looking forward to Parson's execution of that statement.