Transcript: Jesse Ventura Interview

June 12, 2001 -- Terry Moran, of ABCNEWS' Good Morning America, interviewed Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura today. Following is a complete transcript of the exchange.

Terry Moran: Governor Jesse Ventura of Minnesota is wrestling withwhat may be the biggest crisis of his political career; he's preparingfor a possible total shutdown of the government in Minnesota.Governor Ventura joins us from St. Paul.

Welcome, governor. Let me ask you first, what is happening inMinnesota? I understand you've got a gridlock problem with bothhouses of the legislature being controlled by different parties.Sounds familiar, but what's going on?

Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura: Well, they couldn't get their work done in the five-month period that they're in session. They couldn't reach agreement on even spending targets. They got nowhere, and so now we're faced with — yesterday I called a special session because the clock is running.

Of course, the fiscal year runs out on June 30, whichessentially means that even though the state of Minnesota has money,we can't get at it to provide for the needs that state government dobecause you can't do that without the right legislature enacted to doso, and so they're in special session right now. I called them backyesterday and we already had to send preliminary notices out formassive layoffs and come this following Monday, if they haven'treached agreement, then we will mail those layoff notices out to over51,000 employees.

Terry Moran: Well, calling a special session is a special power thatgovernors have. Presidents don't. What do you think of the wayPresident Bush, so far, is handling his job?

Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura: Well, I think he's doing fairly good. He's passing themajor initiatives that he's put on the table. That's beingsuccessful. He seems to be getting bipartisan support on them and soat this early point of his four-year tenure, I think he's doing OK.

Terry Moran: You know, he lost the Senate recently with SenatorJeffords of Vermont, switching from being a Republican to being anindependent. As an independent yourself, what do you make ofJeffords' switch? Is it a good thing for the kind of politics thatyou espouse?

Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura: Well, no, I don't particularly like it that muchbecause of the fact that he was elected as a Republican so I don'tview him as a true independent. He's just a person who fell out ofgrace with his party. When he runs and gets elected as anindependent, then I'll classify him truly as an independent, but he'sjust a man without a party right now who doesn't know which one of thetwo he'd rather be part of and probably puts him in a good positionwhere he can jockey back and forth with either one and, you know,gives him a position of power, but I don't view him as a trueindependent.

Terry Moran: Let me switch subjects. Governor, you're a man with alot of experience handling the press. President Bush has aninteresting and difficult press problem right now and it has to dowith his daughters. They have landed in trouble with the law a coupleof times for underaged drinking. What do you think of this wholecontroversy?

Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura: Well, it's something you know that you have to expectfrom the media. Even though his daughters are not elected, they'regoing to go in the media spotlight. The media is going to put themunder a great deal of scrutiny and they're going to get it far morethan the average teenager ever would.

I mean, I don't think you'llsee national coverage if the teenager down the street happens to tryto use a fake ID to buy alcohol. You know, it probably goes on quitefrequently throughout the world. I'm not condoning it. There's anage for drinking alcoholic beverages and, you know, you should followthe rules.

But to me that's an internal family problem and thepresident and the first lady will deal with it, and it doesn't concernme overall because I have problems here dealing with the state ofMinnesota and so...

Terry Moran: All right, last question for you.

Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura: Well, let me finish...

Terry Moran: All right.

Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura: So, you know, the president and his personal life istheir personal life and should be left as such.

Terry Moran: OK. Last question I've got to ask you while you're here,the XFL — I watched, like a lot of people, a little bit; decided Ididn't want to watch anymore, what'd you learn from that experience?

Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura: Well, I learned that it's too bad for the players, thatyou've got a tremendous amount of football players out there that wantto play football and they have nowhere to play.

Terry Moran: Yes. It ended up not being very good football, though, Ithink is the bottom line there.

Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura: Not being very good football?

Terry Moran: Yes.

Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura: Well, obviously, you didn't watch.

Terry Moran: I watched a little.

Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura: Because I did every game and I found it to beexcellent football.

Terry Moran: Really?

Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura: So maybe you and I will have a difference of opinion.I mean, triple overtimes and things like that aren't good football?

Terry Moran: Alright.

Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura: I found our games as exciting as any NFL game I everwatched.

Terry Moran: Alright. Well, sticking to your guns as usual. JesseVentura, thanks very much for joining us.

Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura: You're welcome.