A reader heard Jesse Ventura on (N)PR today and tells me he sounds exactly like a candidate. I hate to be the one to say it, but he’s a legitimate threat to win this race. Fiscal conservative. Anti-war. Perpetually angry. It’s getting to be an angry year.
It would play out like this. At first, Ventura would siphon polling numbers away from my guy Al Franken. Everyone would get all hot and bothered and say that Franken is road meat and that Sen. Norm Coleman’s real challenger is Ventura. At the debates, Jesse gets in Norm’s grill and everyone, including Republicans, realize that Norm isn’t especially likable. So then Norm’s numbers dive and you’ve got a 30/30/30 poll taken the week before the election. Anyone could win in that situation. Franken’s people might want to draw up a contingency plan that involves a bump draft behind an insurgent Ventura for a come-from-behind win. Remember Humphrey’s folly!
UPDATE: ABC is reporting that Ventura implied he was running during the interview, which was apparently on National Public Radio.
This would make the race very interesting. Did Ventura burn his bridges with Minnesotans by being a whiny, thin skinned, opportunist while governor? I think he did with many Minnesotans.
Looking at it from a different perspective though, Jesse managed to draw HUGE amounts of votes from people who had never voted before, or rarely voted. He would definitely turn the race upside down, as the polls do not reflect the kind of support this guy can generate.
Worst case scenario is that he takes too many votes away from Franken and not enough from Coleman, and we end up with more Norm.
He has good arguments against both candidates though, he is already branding Franken as a carpetbagger, and branding Norm as a pawn of the national party…
I personally would be ok with Jesse or Al.