Venturaís packed and ready to leave

By T.W. Budig
ECM capitol reporter
The Governorís office may be silent on the final day of the Ventura administration.
ìIf I got my office all cleaned out, why bother (to go in),î said Gov. Jesse Ventura, speaking in an exclusive interview with ECM Publishers Tuesday, Dec. 17.
Clearing out the office wonít take long, he said. Thereís a few plaques to collect, some photos. Heíll need to go through the desk drawers, said Ventura. Officially, Venturaís last day as governor is Jan. 6.
On that day at noon, Gov.-elect Tim Pawlenty will take the helm of the state from the celebrity Independence Party governor.
Venturaís attendance at the ceremony is not a foregone conclusion. So far, he hasnít received an invitation, said Ventura. Heís suppose to be invited, isnít he? he asked. ìIf Iím not invited, Iím not going to show up,î said Ventura. That would be like going to party without being asked, Ventura explained.

Departure started last summer
Ventura views his departure from office as beginning months ago, beginning last summer when he announced he would not seek a second term. His commitment was pretty much over after that, said Ventura.
ìSo Iíve had six months to prepare for this. Itís not sneaking up on me anyway,î he said.
Criticism that he has not been an attentive governor ñ the hubbub over his moonlighting ñ rankles Ventura.
Were people at the Capitol willing to talk, theyíd say heís spent more time in the Governorís Office than most governors, he said.
His XFL commentator job, for instance, was only 10 weekends. And he almost was never at the Capitol on weekends, said Ventura.
ìAnd yet if you talk to the average citizen, they probably thought I spent a year out (moonlighting) of the four years by the way the media went about it,î he said.
Ventura generally is assumed to have made millions in his various business dealings over his term.
As for those two rare weekend appearances at the Capitol, one followed the death of Sen. Paul Wellstone, said Ventura.
He couldnít exactly remember the second, he said.
Likely it was the weekend marking the close of the last legislative session. Ventura golfed that Saturday to return to the Capitol later to await legislation needing his signature.
The Legislature last session ignored the governor for the most part.
What was he suppose to do, he said of that last Saturday of the session, speaking last summer. Just sit there and wait for the Legislature to act? But how did the Ventura Administration do overall?

Administration rated
The administration in its "Big Accounting,î cited an independent evaluation by experts who scored the administration high on light rail transit, the youth tobacco endowment, and on promoting Minnesota.
Lower scores were given its telecommunications initiative, unicameral or single house drive, and reforming politics as usual ñ whatever that meant.
The initiative Ventura most threw himself into was probably unicam. Out of the skirmishing came the Ventura oft-quoted summation of lawmakers as a set of ìgutless cowards.î
Lawmakers often criticized Ventura for being disengaged from the legislative process. Ventura notes the criticism, though adds that being the back scratcher and schmoozer some depict as central to the process cuts against the grain of himself.
ìThatís not in me,î he said of backslapping. Legislation should stand or fall by its own merit, he said.
Whatever the overall grade the Ventura Administration is given, the fact remains Ventura entered office four years ago at a time of state budget surpluses and leaves office with a projected $4.6 billion deficit.
His fingerprints arenít anywhere on that deficit, Ventura insists.

Blames economy
He blames the economy and the legislative inaction, lawmakers unwilling to make hard decisions short months before the election.
How many times does he have to explain this, complained Ventura, sitting behind his cluttered desk in the Governorís Office, balancing a fat cigar (unlit) pointing elsewhere.
(State economist Tom Stinson recently said, had the Ventura budget plan been adopted last session it would have built state budget reserves but not solved the budget problem).
While the administrationís legacy can be debated, people tend to have set views on Ventura himself. One administration staffer recently wrote a column comparing Ventura to a Greek God ñ which places Olympus in South Minneapolis with foothills in Maple Grove.
Others see things starkly different.
Ventura numbered among those booed at the recent Wellstone memorial, cameras turning away from the arriving governor and First Lady to momentarily show a man delivering a fascist salute on the big screen.
Granted, these are extremes. But whatever inhabits the center, its tones are not perceived as grey.

Combative style
One theory on Venturaís combative style of governance is that he took his professional wrestling skills and applied them to politics.
Not so, Ventura said. ìI donít think my wrestling really had much bearing at all,î he said.
The military had far more influence on him, said Ventura. It taught him about the chain of command, he explained.
What attributes does Ventura believe make a good leader?
ìI think you have to have the ability to communicate. Youíre not going to lead without communication,î said Ventura.
From there itís a matter of style, he said.
ìYou can be a quiet leader; you can be a vocal leader,î he said.
One tie perhaps does exists between his wrestling career and governorship ñ his willingness to make decisions, said Ventura.

Not shy about making decisions
ìI was never shy about making decisions,î said Ventura of his career in the ring. ìLikewise, I was never shy about making those decisions in this chair,î he said.
ìWhen youíre not a career politician, you never have to fear the decisions you make,î said Ventura.
Over his years in office, Ventura has led trade missions to China, Japan, Cuba ñ other countries. Heís slept in the White House and otherwise hobnobbed with hundreds of political and social elites.
Who are most interesting people heís met?
Venturaís picks fit his paradoxical nature. He selected the Dali Lama and Cubaís Fidel Castro as the two most interesting personalities heís encountered.
Ventura said the Dali Lama has a great sense of humor and that he admired the spiritual leaderís curiosity.
Itís always interesting to be around a person so revered by others. ìYou think, ëWhy?íî said Ventura.
Ventura ñ though saying he does not personally support Castro ñ termed Castroís four-decade grip on power in Cuba when actively opposed by the United States ìreally quite remarkable.î
You have to give the man his due, said Ventura.
ìNot too many dictators can have the wrath of the United States of America on their back for 43 years and still survive,î said Ventura.
ìThat says something about the guy,î he said.

Castro called Ventura courageous
In visiting with Castro recently, the Cuban dictator called Ventura courageous for going against the expressed desires of the United Stateís government in visiting Cuba, said Ventura.
ìI took that as quite a compliment,î he said, describing Castro as a man of courage willing to lead a guerrilla war to topple a dictator.
Ventura views dictatorship as an effective form of government.
ìCertainly more could get done under a dictatorship,î he said.
ìIf youíre like Fidel Castro, all you have to do is order it and it gets done. And that would be the ideal thing ñ to be able to accomplish things,î he said.
ìBut our system isnít set up that way,î Ventura notes.
ìOurís is a very slow process that requires a lot of loopholes in it ñ the whole bureaucratic system that ends up,î he said.
ìYou donít get clean-cut decisions,î said Ventura.
What is Ventura going to do after Jan. 6?

Future plans in place
Heís tightlipped about future plans. There are plans in place, he acknowledged.
ìAbsolutely,î said Ventura.
One story has Ventura doing a television talk show.
That Ventura would return to the media might seem strange, given his celebrated animus. One thing that especially irked him as governor was having his family pulled into the media spotlight. He felt embarrassed for Capitol reporters, he said, when they fixated on his family ñ on rumors ñ while ignoring real issues, Ventura explained.
ìWe have C.J. (the Star Tribuneís Carol Johnson) for that,î said Ventura.
(Despite his angry public outburst at reporters, Ventura was usually courteous to reporters during one-on-one interviews).
Is Minnesota a better place after four years of Gov. Jesse Ventura?
Ventura paused for moment when asked, saying thatís not really a question to ask him. Minnesota has always been a great state, he said.
But he had an opinion: ìYes, I think we are,î he said. ìWe certainly got put on the map, didnít we. So if you look at it from that aspect, yes we are.î

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