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Minnesota Governor Defies Easy Labels, So Far By DIRK JOHNSON ST. PAUL -- In a state Capitol reception room ornamented with marble fireplaces and crystal chandeliers, Gov. Jesse Ventura, wearing blue jeans and white socks and looking like someone who could use a shave, was talking -- roaring, actually -- about running for President. "I could win," Ventura said, rattling off poll numbers as he jutted his broad chin, "if I wanted it." In his first three months of office, Ventura, the former professional wrestler known for fighting in a pink boa, has managed to offend, annoy and outrage plenty of Minnesotans -- but win the cheers of most. "For as much feathers as I've ruffled in being politically incorrect," he said in an interview, "I get 10 to 1 letters from people saying that's why they like me." A recent public opinion survey showed Ventura with a 57 percent approval among voters, a high rating, if down from the lofty 72 percent he received just after his stunning triumph last November. In a state that prides itself on having a painfully earnest style of trying to say and do the right thing, Ventura has jumped at every chance to be incendiary -- and then to pour on gasoline. In the 27 appointments he has made as Governor, he has not named a single black man or black woman. He joked on national television -- and later offered a tepid apology -- that St. Paul's confusing street plan had been designed by "drunken Irishmen." He suggested that college athletes should not be required to attend classes. He called, without success, for a salary for his wife as first lady, and for bodyguards at his suburban horse farm. And he has crossed swords with Garrison Keillor, the Minnesota folklorist who is host of "A Prairie Home Companion," the National Public Radio program. Ventura is loud, profane and often seems ready to explode, thrusting a forefinger menacingly in the direction of anyone who poses an unpleasant question. But for all his bluster, the Governor has shown little inclination to push for big policy changes. Borrowing from approaches from both the Democratic and Republican Party, he has been described as "a centrist with an attitude." Barbara Carlson, a radio talk-show host and former Minneapolis mayoral candidate, has had Ventura on her program, where time after time she has corrected what she called his "atrocious grammar." "Either we are the envy of the nation or the laughingstock," said Mrs. Carlson, the former wife of former Gov. Arne Carlson. "I haven't decided." Among ordinary Minnesotans, Ventura's antics continue to amuse. But it is uncertain whether voters will ultimately want more in a Governor than an often delightfully outrageous showman. "Do I like Jesse?" said Gary Fursetzer, a 45-year-old Minneapolis limousine driver. "Sure I like him. Do I think he'll be a good Governor? Well, that's another question." For all the attention and, often, affection he has received, the mountainous hulk of a Governor has yet to show much political muscle. Steve Schier, a political science professor at Carleton College, said Ventura, as a third-party candidate, had no real base of power in the Legislature. "He can huff and he can puff, but he can't blow their house down," Professor Schier said. "Jesse is a man without a political base. This guy has no votes in the State Senate or House that will, forgive the pun, go to the mat for him." Governor Ventura has not pressed hard for any agenda. Indeed, some politicians have scoffed that Ventura, a boat owner, has made regulations on watercraft one of his chief concerns. Moreover, some legislators have complained that Ventura does not always make himself accessible or engage in the nitty-gritty of government. The departing Democratic Party chairman, Dick Senese, predicted that Ventura's outrageous style "will wear thin," especially if the state's robust economy falters. Senese said the Governor's perceived contempt for negotiation and compromise would ultimately hinder his ability to govern. "He's fond of saying he's not going to play the games politicians' play," Senese said. "But it's not only the game of politics, it's the game of life. You and your friends can't decide what restaurant to go to without discussion and compromise." Professor Schier said the Governor had staked his ground as "a centrist with an attitude." "His style is fire engine red," he added, "but his policies are beige." That moderation, Professor Schier said, makes the Governor appealing to many Minnesotans who are weary of the very liberal character of the state's Democratic Farmer Labor Party and the sharply conservative bearings of its Republican Party. On the biggest issue, how to handle the state's budget surplus, Ventura favors a rebate to taxpayers. But he would cap the rebate at $5,000 per household. Ventura has also proposed big increases in spending for education and public housing. And he favors the creation of a light rail transit system between Minneapolis and the suburbs. Those positions have won the support of Mayor Sharon Sayles Belton of Minneapolis. "We have a shared agenda," she said of Ventura. Ms. Sayles Belton, who is black and considered a political liberal, acknowledged that she had winced when the Governor's appointments did not include any blacks. Questions about the lack of diversity in his Cabinet bring a glower to the Governor's face. "I don't believe in quotas," he said with an angry growl. "I pick the most qualified people." Ventura noted that some of his top advisers have included blacks. And he said he had received few applications from blacks for Cabinet positions. Minnesota is more than 90 percent white. Ventura also created a stir by requesting, and obtaining, a permit to carry a pistol. But he said he does not carry it while making his rounds at the Capitol, as some leaders had feared he would do. Shortly after an apparent cheating scandal was exposed among University of Minnesota basketball players, he raised eyebrows by suggesting on a television show that athletes should not be bothered by school work. "My view is, to eliminate this cheating, or the possibility of it, why not let kids go to college and just be athletes while they're there?" Ventura said. "No classes. Let them simply play. "Then when they're done, if they don't make it in the N.F.L., if they don't make it in the N.B.A., if they don't make it in pro baseball, whatever it might be, then give them their scholarship." He also offended some Minnesotans with his answer to a young single mother who had described her plight to the Governor at a forum. In essence, the Governor told her, she had gotten herself into trouble and should not expect the Government to solve all her problems. While some people were outraged by his seeming lack of empathy, many others cheered the Governor for being straightforward. "He speaks from the heart like an average, ordinary Minnesotan," said Emmett Carson, the president of the Minneapolis Foundation, a private group that supports charities. "That is what is so refreshing, and sometimes so scary, about him." Ventura, who rarely misses a chance to promote his upcoming book, "I Ain't Got Time to Bleed" (Villard), has gotten into a war of words with a much more understated Minnesota figure, Keillor. His book, "Me, by Jimmy (Big Boy) Valente as Told to Garrison Keillor," a stinging satire of a professional wrestler with an unmistakable resemblance to the Governor, enraged Ventura. Ventura has criticized Keillor as "a high brow," described his radio show as "boring" and said, "I never watched it." Ventura said he much preferred the brand of humor found in the movie "Fargo," which lampooned Minnesota stoicism. "Graphic violence and things you can laugh at," he said, referring to the movie. "That's much better." As for President, Ventura said some polling organizations had found that nationally, he had the support of 23 to 32 percent of respondents. In the White House, he would tell the truth, Ventura said, as he sprinkled his speech with barnyard epithets and roared in delight. He said he was not planning a Presidential bid just yet. "But you never say never," he said, folding his powerfully muscled arms across his chest. "Ten years ago, if somebody would have said I'd be Governor, I would have laughed."
