ICYMI: Richard Announces, Retracts Grave Concerns About Kinder's 2012 Prospects

Friday afternoon, House Speaker Ron Richard (R-Joplin) told the Post-Dispatch's Tony Messenger that he wanted to be on "the short list" of GOP candidates for governor in 2016.  And then at some point in the next 24 hours, Richard decided -- or was persuaded -- that we shouldn't believe what he'd stated the day before. 

It's not hard to see why some of his colleagues at the MOGOP's Lincoln Days celebration were freaked out by Richard's statements.  Implicit in his 2016 dreams, of course, is the assumption that Peter Kinder will not survive his 2012 campaign for governor. 

(It's also possible that Richard is expecting Kinder to win his 2012 bid , but will be so terrible that leaders in his own party will line up to boot him from office -- but that seems unlikely.)

I can certainly see why Richard isn't bullish about Kinder's prospects, but voicing such doubts could not have gone over well in Kinder's camp.  And so, on Saturday, Richard donned a Team Kinder apron and pretended that Friday never happened.

It's tempting to just laugh at Richard's glorious about-face --- and it is hilarious.  But the real story, in my mind, is how open the Republican Speaker of the House was in discussing his future plans on the assumption that Peter Kinder will reenter private life in late 2012.