STILL WRESTLING WITH IT

Q Four years ago, you were elected governor of Minnesota as an independent.
In June, you announced that you wouldn't seek re-election. So tell us, who
proved the more formidable foe: the elitist left or the religious right?

I got more trouble from the religious right. They are much more vocal and
organized. I vetoed a bill that would force women to wait 24 hours before
getting an abortion. I made an offer to the right wing: "I'll sign this
bill if you make all optional surgical procedures have a 24-hour waiting
period, which would include liposuction." They were appalled.

You came to office with a libertarian-leaning agenda. Has your view of
government changed?

I don't think so, but I have learned that it is extremely difficult to get
government out of people's lives. Tell me one thing in life that does not
require government approval.

Masturbation?

No, there are probably laws against that. Government is connected to
everything we do.

Do you see situations in which government does not play enough of a role in
our lives?

Transportation. I was giving a speech at the Cato Institute, and the
libertarians started to boo me because I said, "Don't you think that
government has a role in building roads?" They said no. I said: "How did
you get here today? On a government-made road."

Why do you think that voters flirt with maverick candidates like John
McCain but elect establishment politicians like George W. Bush?

Mavericks never go as far as I did. Had McCain left the Republican Party
and run as an independent, he might very well be president today.

He could run as an independent in 2004.

This business is about timing. My best chance to be president was the last
election. I still believe that I could have won. Who was excited about the
two candidates? No one.

Do you think you might return to public service?

No, but no one can predict the future. I believe we are all destined to do
certain things.

Are you destined to be president?

At some points I've been afraid of that.

What do you think of the Bush presidency?

On foreign policy, I'm with him all the way. Domestically, he has a lot of
shortcomings. Specific example: medicinal marijuana. It has passed in what,
nine states now? Yet the government heavy-handedly comes in and says, "We
don't give a damn what your voters say."

Your new children's book, "Jesse Ventura Tells It Like It Is," gives an
overview of the Bill of Rights. Which amendment faces the greatest threat
today?

The separation between church and state. I think the founding fathers
believed religion shouldn't interact directly with government. There is no
right religion, and no one can prove that there is.

Did you support the Ninth Circuit Court's decision that it's
unconstitutional for public-school students to recite the Pledge of Allegiance?

My position is that it isn't government's job to mandate patriotism. To me,
mandating a pledge of allegiance to a government is something Saddam
Hussein would do.

You write in your book "I Ain't Got Time to Bleed" that physical bearing
plays a large part in leadership. Any advice for a scrawny candidate?

Start working out. In the debates in 1998 I always tried to sit between
Humphrey and Coleman. They are tiny people. I always made it a point to sit
up there straight and tall, because I think voters think to themselves,
"Hmm, if I was in a dark alley, which of those three would I want with me?"

Who is the public figure you would most like to smack around in the
wrestling ring?

George Will. He wrote that people had woken up after 9/11 and had gotten
serious about leadership, that there would be no more novelties like Jesse
Ventura. He should come here to see what we have achieved, but he won't
because he is in bed with career politicians.

Why did you decide not to run again?

If I did this job for another four years, I probably would have to work
until age 60 before I could retire. Now I will only have to work until age
55. And those five years are very precious. In this job you only get paid
$120,000 a year, and whenever I go earn other money I get lambasted for it
- -- even though it cost my wife her job, because she had to serve as first
lady for free and forgo her business.

How much should a governor be paid?

Close to $400,000, but with that should come term limits. Two terms, that's
it. And we need to eliminate retirement benefits for elected officials.

At a salary of $400K, would you have run again?

Probably.