It became much clearer Thursday that a thin-skinned Gov. Mike Parson exaggerated grounds for a criminal investigation against a Post-Dispatch reporter to cover his own embarrassment over lax state management of a website that left teachers' Social Security numbers vulnerable to exposure. Even the FBI told a state official that the reporter didn't intrude on the state's computer network. Instead, the FBI cited the state's own "misconfigured" website database for creating vulnerabilities that left teachers' vital personal data potentially exposed. Parson nevertheless reacted with outrage and deployed state troopers to investigate Post-Dispatch reporter Josh Renaud.

Renaud was the one who stumbled across the vulnerable data in October and brought the security flaw to the state's attention. He withheld publication of a story about it to give the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education time to secure its website. According to email exchanges obtained by the Post-Dispatch's Jack Suntrup, a proposed quote from state Education Commissioner Margie Vandeven on Oct. 12 suggested thanking "a member of the news media" — Renaud — "who brought this to the state's attention."

But Parson's office overrode the suggestion, eliminating any public statement of gratitude. The next day, the Office of Administration labeled Renaud a "hacker," which was the exact language Parson used in an Oct. 14 appearance announcing a State Highway Patrol criminal investigation. Parson declared the entire episode to be part of a "news outlet's political vendetta."

Parson's turn toward such harsh rhetoric defies logic and political common sense. This newspaper once had good reasons to praise Parson for smart decisions and bipartisan goodwill. Even when he ran for lieutenant governor in 2016, our endorsement of his opponent noted that Parson was "affable, experienced and capable." We found no reason to criticize him, noting only that his opponent was more qualified. When Parson replaced his disgraced predecessor, Eric Greitens, in 2018, we offered nothing but praise and optimism about the state's future under Parson's leadership.

Our editorial expressions of disappointment since then, based on factual news reporting of his multiple missteps and embarrassing statements, hardly rank as a "political vendetta." But Parson seems increasingly prone to shooting the messenger as a way of distracting Missourians from his own substantial leadership shortcomings.

On Thursday, he lashed out at a Missouri Independent reporter whose publication revealed how Parson's administration buried an analysis by the state health director concluding that mask mandates have helped reduce coronavirus infection rates and death tolls. Parson unleashed a bizarre series of tweets in which he denounced the reporter, with 30 years of experience, as a "political blogger" pretending to be a journalist.

Seasoned politicians know how to roll with the punches and learn from their mistakes. Parson doubles down on his mistakes, then gets upset when his blunders generate more criticism. Had he followed the wise counsel of advisers as suggested in Vandeven's draft statement, the governor's office wouldn't find itself such a reliable target of public ridicule.

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