Jeremiah “Jay” Nixon has only served as governor of Missouri for a few months now, but it’s already apparent that he’s a much more capable politician than his predecessor.

Take the Chiefs camp, for instance.

The deal to move the Kansas City Chiefs’ three-week training camp was supposedly done back in January. On the eve of Matt Blunt vacating the governor’s mansion, the deal had every needed approval, every crucial signature. St. Joseph celebrated.

But wait.

St. Joseph’s training camp hopes faced an uncertain spring, as new Gov. Nixon tried to play hardball with the Chiefs over the number of years the camp would remain in Missouri. In addition, there was talk the Missouri Legislature would cap the economic development tax breaks. Even though this deal was done and Missouri Western State University officials were quietly confident, it seemed fragile, capable of falling apart at any time.

Plus, the clock was ticking. The project needed to get started quickly in order to be ready for the Chiefs in 2010.

Finally this month, the details seemed to have gotten worked out and a deal was struck. Gov. Nixon made a sudden visit to St. Joseph to announce the great news. He should have galloped into town on a stallion, wearing a white Stetson.

Think about what Gov. Nixon did last week. He actually created some of the roadblocks that delayed the Chiefs deal, then swooped in just in the nick of time and gave everybody what they wanted. Western got the training camp. The Chiefs got their tax breaks. Taxpayers seem satisfied that the state isn’t just throwing money at an NFL team. Charlie Shields is still a hero.

As a bonus, Gov. Nixon, a Democrat, was able to upstage his Republican lieutenant governor. Peter Kinder had worked hard to bring the Chiefs back to Missouri, and last week’s press conference, with Gov. Nixon at the podium, couldn’t have been pleasant for him.

The whole thing was pretty impressive.

In the coming weeks, it will be interesting to see whether Gov. Nixon signs a bill to repeal Missouri’s motorcycle helmet law. A few weeks ago, Mr. Nixon admitted that he’s really undecided about whether to sign the bill or veto it.

But the crafty thing is, it doesn’t matter what our governor does. He’s covered politically, no matter what.

If he rejects the bill, he’s following the recommendations of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, Department of Transportation chief Pete Rahn and the opinion writers at every major daily newspaper in Missouri.

If he signs the bill, well, the Legislature passed it in the first place and he’s just giving them what they want. Bikers and those who believe government should stay out of their personal business will rejoice.

And what if he does nothing?

According to Missouri statute, the repeal goes into effect. The legislative session ended on May 15, and Mr. Nixon has 45 days to act. That means if it languishes past June 29 — a week from today — bikers can bare their heads when the law goes into effect on Aug. 28.

So Gov. Nixon can sign it. Or he can veto it. Or he can do nothing, and he still comes out looking good.

That’s the beauty of being Jay Nixon these days.

Steve Booher’s column runs on Monday. He can be reached at steveb@npgco.com.