He might not be as good at lying as he was at wrestling but hey, who cares now? I just thought his nickname "The body" sounded pretty cool.

Well at first he made sense, one time someone asked him about spending more money to fix the schools and he replied I don't think we should just throw more money at the problem, that's not the right way to go about it. Later on he really fell on his face. I think he's crazy if he think's he's going to run for president. .

Truth is stranger than fiction!

What do you say...only in America, I guess.

For sheer entertainment value. . .awesome.

Minnesota was getting too boring. Jesse injected a little relief. In fact he injected a lot of comic relief!

http://www.startribune.com/stories/587/5330083.html He's a sensationalist idiot, a pervert, and a liar.

He said the right thing at the right time and the people welcomed the news. Perhaps it's his lack of political experience more than deceit but he wasn't able to deliver the goods as promised. I would hope that now that he has tasted big time politics his promises will be more in line with what he can actually do rather than everything that he would like to see get done. It's one thing to have Vince McMahon run your gimmick in the world of professional wrestling but it's another game altogether when presenting your gimmick to the American public who have their money and general welfare on the line. I'd like to see him have another chance to find out if he has learned what it takes to be a politician who can negotiate and deliver. If he still can't follow through then the voters should pin his shoulders to the mat, count to three, and send him back to the locker room.

this guy sucks......the only reason he didn't run for reelection in minnesota is cause he would've got his butt kicked all over the place......seriously, ventura has the intelligence of a fly

Arrogant asshole, whose idea of being honest is saying everything that comes into his stupid little bald head.

A blowhard.

strait shooter tells it like it is

This guy is a pompous windbag and a phony.Had an opportunity to make a difference and squandered it.

This guy is overrated. He lead my state into a recession and a defecit. Better than Pawlenty though.

A joke, but we all need a laugh occasionally.

Hopefully, he'll run for President.An ex-professional wrestler obviously has the experience...His competition in Minnesota also thought he was a joke.

Idiot, a classes idiot. Do you think his ego would allow him to run for a second term if he knew he was going to lose BIG TIME?!

Former Governor Jesse The Body Ventura is considering a run for the Presidency in 2008 as an independent. We'd better get ready! Although I agree with some of his positions, he simply made a lot of stupid political mistakes as governor of Minnesota. Strange that all the people who are a breath of fresh air in politics usually get tossed to the side, probably because they think it's possible to act outside the system. Ventura was elected as Governor of Minnesota in 1998 after running a quixotic campaign which relied on mobilizing young voters. His main defect both as a candidate and governor is that he didn't develop any ideas or a political agenda. He was broadly against the system, yet he didn't have a clue as to where he would begin to change it. He did have a mind of his own, particularly on education, where he supported higher funding but less support for the teachers unions. Since he was unwilling to work with either the Republicans or the Democrats, most his proposals were lost in the state legislature, which he advocated turning into a unicameral chamber. He intended to make it more representative of the will of the people and most importantly more responsive to the Governors initiatives. Ventura also supported much needed tax reform. He tried to work for the best of the people, but his proposals were lost in the controversy he stirred. He called religion a crutch for weak minded people, discussed a visit to a Nevada prostitute, and served as a host of the disbanded XFL football league. Ventura said the media focused too much on these points, but he brought it on himself by exploiting his popularity. He wasn't too bright and not very politically deft, that brought about his political fall at the end of the day.

Idiot

Well, I guess he was slightly more honest than Clinton.

He probably would have been a great governor, if he wouldn't have jumped on the anti-tobacco cartel bandwagon in Minnesota....just another governor who proves he does not believe in the rights of ALL Americans...

Jesse Ventura is unqualified for public office.

I loved Jesse as a wrestling announcer (I never saw him wrestle though, I got into wrestling just after he had retired and just had started announcing). He's very honest and very funny. Although I am a Republican, if I was a resident in Minnesota in 1998, I would have voted for him for Governor. I agree with him on a lot of issues (e.g. we both favor limited government and I like his call for legalized prostitution). However, I disagree with him vehemently on school vouchers and abortion, and those are two of my most important issues. Also, although I appreciate his honesty, he overgeneralized when he said that religion is a crutch for weak-minded people. It may be a crutch for some people, but not for a lot of Bible believers. I'm a Bible-believing, born-again Christian and a rejecter of evolution because I believe that when one looks objectively at the evidence, they'll realize that Jesus really did rise from the dead and he really was/is the son of God as well as God. And I've NEVER believed in evolution. The Bible says that God created man in his own image, it doesn't say that man was originally an ape and evolved into the image of God.

A person who seems to be refreshing until you unwrap the outer layer. One finds nothing but an amoral know it all!

Well, Minnesota hasn't turned into a John Carpenter Snake Pliskin movie. So, we can at least give the body, mind, whatever credit for that. However, we never heard him mentiong any major headlines of him improving the state (then again, it's not like the MEDIA on both ends liked him much anyway).

He was a breath of political fresh air that turned into a stale fart. His outsider status was appealing, given the stranglehold the two Criminal Conspiracies To Defraud The Taxpayers, namely the Dems and GOP, have on the American political process. One might think that the conservative droolers and the idiotic lefties might wake up someday and realize that the parties to which they pledge allegiance are corrupt and bereft of ideas, and as such, both should be put out of business for the benefit of the commonweal. The time for political alternatives in this country is about 25 years overdue, yet the majority of the slobs who make up the American adult population just don't get it. Ventura was a positive sign that a third-party candidate could get elected to a prominent office in an era of big-money politics, but the only probllem was who that candidate was. The impulse to go to the outsider was admirable on the part of the voters, but really now, the people in Minnesota who cast their ballots for this jerk had to have crap for brains: this does not speak well at all of that state. Jesse the Body was ultimately lacking in Brains and Experience, and didn't have much in the way of vision, attention span or diplomacy. As a result, his performance as Governor was a the political equivalent of a pencil-necked geek who ends up on the short end during a steel cage match.

I'm from Minnesota and saw Jesse when I was a kid wrestling in my hick town and it brought some life here so I got a kick out of him then.Ya,when you get older you realize he was just a bulked up guy on roids and wasn't legitimate and I guess the same goes for him being the governor where he had disfunctions.I liked him on his radio talk show before he became governor because he told it like it was and didn't hold back any punches.''No pun intended.hehe!" Anyway,he did some good things like giving tax rebates and fighting with the democrats to get their way all the time and I loved it when him and his wife walked out of the Wellstone Memorial to magnify that fiasco.He was outspoken,too revealing and bragadocious about personal matters,embraced Castro on his Cuba visit and got the twin cities train plan off the ground which will bankrupt Minnesota so he really stunk up the place on alot of fronts here.I think he had the chance to do and look much better than he did and he wasted a great opportunity for a 3rd party candidate to succeed more than he did.Talk about ego,he complained about the made for t.v.movie based on his life and the movie glorified him to look much better than he actually was.He will be ever known as Governor Turnbuckle in my mind.Well,he beats all the democrats ''socialists''that were ever governor here anyway.We have a Republican,Pawlenty in office now and I am impressed with him.He's the best I have seen running this state and we are gradually losing a bit of our socialist way of doing things here.

Poor Jesse. Popularity got him in office. Confuses religion with government. He sounds and looks like he's from St. Olive. (The city where Rose from the Golden Girls is from) Too bad.

I respect Jesse Ventura for bringing a sense of fun to governing and for taking unpopular stances and speaking his mind regardless as to what anybody thinks. However, governing is not just words, but it is also action, something which Ventura was missing in when he was parading around with the WWE and the XFL when he should have been doing his job. If Minnesota prospered under his reign, it was not because of anything that he did.

Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life, son.

He should stay in politics. A fresh voice and an inspirational leader.

An abomination.

You're kidding, right.

A publicity hound. A windbag. His talents are great for professional wrestling. He should have stayed there.

Loudmouth that loves publicity stunts..

In Tina Turner's words, SIMPLY THE BEST!

Would have given him 5 stars except that now he is retiring for apparently pansy ass reasons, like the press is too hard on him and everybody is against him. Sounds kind of weak, but I did admire him for speaking what he really thought about issues, regardless of who it offended. That is rare in politics.

Enough with the insults, Ventura is a great guy. It's funny that most of the people here insulting him probably have never lived in Minnesota. I've lived there my whole life. And Ventura is one of a rare type of politician: one who speaks their mind and isn't beholden to others. Too bad he is retiring soon.

Politicians are as phony as professional wrestlers anyway, so I say let's at least have politicians with some entertainment value. Forget all those slimy looking Dashels or babbling George Bushs', we need fake politicians who are fun to watch and at least good looking. And if they could toss an Arafat or body slam a fat Sharon, then all the better. Our two party system is a corrupt joke that has monopolized power for too long. But because the American people hate the harsh truth and would rather watch TV then pay attention to issues, they deserve a Jessie to make things fun and irrelevant. I think Jessie is a welcomed addition to American politics. Let's open the door to big strong good looking fake politicians and trash all those puny little ugly ones that have been forced upon us by a corrupt system. It won't solve any problems. but it will liven things up and make for good window dressing.

Pity about this guy being elected while he's still waiting for that brain transplant.

Speaks the truth and his mind

Have any of you actually followed his politics? I agree that he comes off as a goofball, but I work in the MN capitol... in fact, I can see Jesse's car right now outside my office window... so I know what he's done politically. He's fiscally conservative, socially liberal. He is a staunch supporter of women's rights, public housing, and gun control. He prevented a number of ultra-conservative (and frightening) bills from passing the MN legislature that would have all but eliminated abortion rights, and one that would have allowed people to obtain permits to carry concealed pistols in public places! Obviously, if you're socially conservative you wouldn't agree with my rating. He has been pegged by the MN media as a bully and an idiot, and is attacked by liberals... if they'd only pay attention, they would realize that he's done them a great service during his four year term. I think he's done a fine job from a policy standpoint. The fact that no one's realized it is his own fault... and partially the fault of the media. Not until he was elected did I truly realize how much the two main political parties control our society, and our minds. That's no joke. Ventura is a questionable figurehead for the third party movement, but he's fighting the right battles. As for the XFL, if this were a sports figure rating, I'd give him a 1. :) Seriously, though. Look at what he stands for and stands against.

He's not on my side & he's not on your side.

Minnesotans did themselves a tremendous service when they elected this man to their highest office. Jesse "The Body" Ventura is one of the funniest, most eloquent men to grace the American political scene. Read his books, "I Ain't Got Time to Bleed" and "Do I Stand Alone?" They are full of common-sense approaches to making all levels of government work, from grass-roots level to the Presidency. He is an Everyman who imparts his opinions on everything from reforming the current entrenched political system, to making education more equitable and accountable, to encouraging voters to really know who their candidates are and whether or not they are beholden to other powers-that-be. He is a voice of the common man who operates on the same political playground that the other parties do, and he makes 'em upset and nervous. Like McCain, Jeffords and Nader, he challenges the status quo and makes people re-think their platforms to ask themselves if what they say they believe in and what they are doing are truly benefitting their constituents, or if what they say and believe are enabling them to line their pockets with contributions from PACs and other nefarious ubermenschens. His empathy for people with disabilities is admirable, since his daughter, Jade, is a special needs student. Jesse is a Warren Zevon kind of guy, which ain't too shabby either. Jesse, whether you are in the political or wrestling ring, you've got my vote! Keep up the tremendous work!

Straight forward and honest, tells it like it is leaving no doubt that he is a total buffoon. Saying religion is for the weak minded, yep God said we encounter folks like Jesse. He just falls right in the prophecy line with the rest of them.

I don't live there so Minnesota can elect Governor whoever they wish. He is a bit refreshing because he often speaks plainly but that doesn't automatically make somone qualified or a leader! For Pete's sake, this is a man who made his living in the professional wrestling world slicing his forehead with a razor blade! Duh!!

I don't think that Rhonda has any idea what she is talking about!!!! This is a statement basically replying to the things she has said! She bitches about having to support people on welfare....well get ready because Jesse is going to send thousands more on the program!!!! So quit your bitchin' and do something about it instead of relying on the womanizing, freakish, insane, half-ass governer that by some miricle got elected. Were you aware of how he wants to screw over the education system? Who do you rely on to teach your children about everything? Who is one of the main people in your child's life that is going to make a difference? Where would your children be without their TEACHER?????? Not with you obviously....because you're too busy working your ass off!!! With Dumbasses proposals, teachers will get majorly screwed over. We will be damn close to the poverty line! What does that mean??? Oh yeah, more people on welfare! How can we call him a representation of our state? What kind of man....any man....stands up for playboy models and focuses way too much of his time on the media? Just because he was a major public figure doesn't give him the right to take his job as a joke. He is in no way professional and if we had any other governor or a president for that matter do anything like he does, they would catch royal hell for it! I just hope in the future, Minnesotans will be a little on the smarter side and get him out of office!!!!

A moronic, anti-Christian buffoon who represents the nadir of our cultural and political decline.

Oh my gosh, what a joke! Can't spell, can't articulate; can he even read? Wouldn't our Founding Fathers be proud!

As a wrestler, you did your job with minimal clothing. As a politian, you are still an empty suit with a twisted mind and a self effacing focus.