Just his latest word, not the rambling and defensive words of his first news conference, when the Crandall Canyon mine collapsed three weeks ago. Not the angry words he shouted at the frustrated families of the six trapped miners last week. Not the threatening words in his letter to the governor. Not even the self-congratulatory and whining words of a news release issued Sunday.

I'm going to go with Murray's words when he laid off 170 workers at the Tower mine over the weekend - "until I can make it safe."

That's what he said. And if the Tower mine is as dangerous as Crandall Canyon, Murray is doing the responsible thing. Better that 300 coal-country families be thrown into financial limbo than having more Utah coal miners die.

But if not, Bob Murray is the coldest corporate coal CEO around, a man willing to sacrifice his employees to make a political point.

I'm a little skeptical because the coal-miner-cum-baron's own words come back to haunt him time and again. He promised to rescue the miners, "dead or alive" - a pledge made in the heat of the moment that the inevitable laws of physics have nearly silenced. Hard to blame him for that.

Other Murray words are more damning. He said the collapse was caused by an earthquake - all evidence and protests from seismologists to the contrary. He insisted Crandall Canyon was not destabilized by so-called "retreat mining," despite a permit on file with the Mine Safety and Health Administration. He vowed to "minister" to the miners' families and then turned on them when the meetings got tough. And he pledged to work with investigators from the state and federal governments.

But when Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. was uncomfortably pointed in his criticism last week, Murray, previously a public relations disaster, started spinning reporters and miners alike. In a letter to Utah's governor, he became an aggressive victim. And he revealed a more self-serving motivation:

"If you persist in your statements and course of action, you, Governor, are going to jeopardize the 700 jobs in Carbon and Emery counties," he wrote. "I cannot maintain them alone, and I definitely cannot do it if I am going to be your whipping boy."

Sensing a potential diversion, he insisted Huntsman refer to him as "Mr. Murray." He blasted the governor - who, it happens, oversees the state agencies that monitor the mining industry and also represents more than 2 million people, including the 30,000 people who live in Carbon and Emery counties - for being disrespectful.

And then, a few days later, he summarily laid off scores of miners.

"I will proceed to do my best with honesty, integrity, and the safety and welfare of our miners at the foremost, as I have done for the past year," he wrote.

I'll take him at his word. For now.

walsh@sltrib.com