<table> </table> It would have been easy for Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon to have been a bit overshadowed Tuesday night.</p><p>Nixon had just clinched the Democratic primary in decisive fashion, collecting 85 percent of the vote. In November, he will be pitted against Republican Kenny Hulshof, a U.S. representative from Columbia.</p><p>With a crowd of media and supporters gathered at the Uptown Theater, Nixon&#8217;s acceptance speech had to stand out. But he had to follow two of Missouri&#8217;s most effective orators &#8212; U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver and U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill.</p><p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t know about you,&#8221; McCaskill said. &#8220;I like the idea of the next president of the United States, Senator Barack Obama, campaigning hand-in-hand with the next governor of the state of Missouri, Jay Nixon.&#8221;</p><p>Nixon then came out to loud applause and started his speech with a slow cadence.</p><p>&#8220;Tonight we celebrate,&#8221; Nixon said. &#8220;But we don&#8217;t celebrate because this victory was unexpected. We celebrate because we&#8217;re turning the page and we&#8217;re one step closer to victory &#8230; Tonight we stand united.&#8221;</p><p>Nixon insisted that Hulshof is unable to bring the kind of change Missouri needs.</p><p>&#8220;Our state quite frankly is at a crossroads,&#8221; Nixon said. &#8220;We can either continue moving backwards with these same failed policies. Or we can chart a new course and begin to move forward again.&#8221;</p><p>Maybe it was the guy up front who kept egging Nixon on like a deacon at a Baptist church. Or maybe it was just the level of oratorical competence on stage. Whatever the case, during the middle of his speech, Nixon struck a rhythmic cadence that would have made Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson proud.</p><p>&#8220;We can&#8217;t afford four more years of the same economic policies,&#8221; Nixon said. &#8220;We can&#8217;t afford four more years of skyrocketing health-care costs and soaring college tuition. We can&#8217;t afford four more years of losing good-paying jobs to other states and other countries.</p><p>&#8220;We can&#8217;t afford four more years where science and research take a back seat to ideology. We can&#8217;t afford four more years where the special interests have special access, and regular folks just get squeezed &#8230; We need change.&#8221;</p><p>The delivery got an amen or two from that supporter up front. Then, like a coach laying out his playbook, Nixon spelled out his core campaign issues.</p><p>&#8220;Folks are worried about losing their jobs,&#8221; Nixon said. &#8220;Who could blame them? Our state has lost nearly 17,000 jobs since October. There are 750,000 Missourians who don&#8217;t have health-care coverage, including one out of 11 children. If you&#8217;re fortunate to have coverage, it costs way too much. Gas prices are skyrocketing, and a college education is moving out of reach for more and more Missouri families.&#8221;</p><p>As he finished his speech, Nixon gave a kiss to his wife and gave his son a high-five before engaging in a little Tiger Woods fist pump.</p><p>Nixon had reason to exude a bit of swagger. He had Cleaver and McCaskill stumping for him. He&#8217;s got Obama on his ticket. And he&#8217;d just delivered a quality speech.</p><p>The race for governor in Missouri is always close, and there is plenty of time for catastrophic missteps. But for now, Nixon has the advantage in name recognition and fundraising.</p><p>And those gathered at the Uptown Theater on Tuesday night liked what they heard.