In all the stories about the sorry mess involving Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens – a new felony charge, his upcoming trial involving invasion of privacy, the graphic details given by his former lover – the most telling coverage may be a brief snippet of video shot by a Post-Dispatch reporter in Jefferson City.

Reporter Jack Suntrup wanted Greitens to answer innocuous questions — how can you leave the state with all that is going on, where were you today — but to get even the most basic information from the state’s chief executive is a fruitless task these days. The 11-second video (http://bit.ly/suntrup-video) shows Greitens scurrying away and an aide saying he won’t answer any questions. Not exactly the actions of a courageous Navy SEAL.

How did Missouri get to this place, where a man whose campaign portrayed him to be a brave military hero, a principled non-politician ready to drain the government swamp and a glowing family man turns into a reclusive governor-on-the-lam, using every means he can to avoid being accountable to the people who put him into office?

If Greitens thought the furor around his brief tenure was going to calm down after the sordid testimony of his ex-lover was made public, he soon found out otherwise. In the wake of the release of that damning House committee report, the flurry of demands for his resignation continued, along with other damaging developments.

Most serious may be the new felony charge issued by St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner, charging Greitens with computer tampering. The charge came just before the statute of limitations was set to expire on the alleged misuse of the mailing list of The Mission Continues, the veterans group co-founded by Greitens before he was governor.

On Facebook – one of his favorite avenues of communication these days – Greitens said Gardner’s original felony case is falling apart, so she brought the new charges, adding that “this prosecutor will use any charge she can to smear me.” He said defiantly, “I will have my day in court. I will clear my name.”

Earlier, Greitens taunted Attorney General Josh Hawley, who had announced that evidence in the mailing list case could warrant a charge, saying that Hawley is better at press conferences than he is at the law. The governor also is seeking a restraining order barring further action by Hawley against him.

A judge rejected an effort by Greitens to dismiss the invasion of privacy charge, which involves a photo he allegedly took of his partially nude lover. The trial is still scheduled to begin May 14.

A resolution pushing for impeachment proceedings against the governor was introduced by the House minority leader and attracted a growing number of co-sponsors, including at least one Republican.

And the situation is attracting national attention. President Donald Trump is reportedly keeping track of what’s going on in Missouri while he deals with his own investigations, and The New York Times columnist Frank Bruni termed the story a mashup of “House of Cards” and “Fifty Shades of Grey.”

Meanwhile, crucial business for the state is being delayed or ignored. In education, for example, meeting after meeting of the state school board has been canceled for lack of a quorum. The interim majority that Greitens engineered so they could fire Commissioner Margie Vandeven never won formal confirmation, and the board can’t act to find her replacement until it has a full complement of members — a move that seems unlikely any time soon, given the ill will between lawmakers and the governor.

And legislative leaders who have called for the governor to resign are talking about withholding bills that have passed both chambers, so that Greitens won’t be able to sign them into law, because they don’t think he should be functioning as the state’s chief executive. 

No one can be happy at the sad plight of Missouri’s first Jewish governor, who has such a sterling resume and came across during the campaign as someone sincerely devoted to making the state a better place. But his go-it-alone style and disdain for the lawmakers he must deal with to get things done doomed his agenda almost from the start. He needs to abandon his defiant stance and resign, soon, to let the healing begin.

Greitens continues to say that his mistake was a personal one, but its ripples reach far beyond the pain to his family. At times like these, it’s good to remember Missouri’s official motto: Salus Populi Suprema Lex Esto, or The Welfare of the People Shall Be the Supreme Law. As Greitens’ sad saga marches on, the welfare of Missourians, not the governor, should be the most important mission of everyone involved. As the Jefferson City mishegas continues, that fact should never be lost.