Minneapolis Star-Tribune - October 4, 1999
VENTURA'S COMMENTS HAVE HURT HIS STANDING WITH MINNESOTANS
Dane Smith / Star Tribune
Minnesotans' regard for Gov. Jesse Ventura in the immediate aftermath of his Playboy magazine interview has dropped sharply, the latest Star Tribune Minnesota Poll shows.
Fifty-four percent of Minnesotans approve of Ventura's overall job performance, according to a survey of 624 adults interviewed Friday evening to Sunday evening. While that's a slim majority, it's also a drop of 19 percentage points from a record-high 73 percent approval in a July poll.
A lopsided majority, 75 percent, said they disagreed with Ventura's most incendiary quote in the Playboy interview, that "organized religion is a sham and a crutch for weak-minded people."
Those in almost as large a majority indicated that they've heard more than enough from Ventura. Sixty-eight percent said they agree that he should "use better judgment about when to keep his opinions to himself."
His endless revelations about youthful indiscretions, his raw language and his personal tastes appear to have become a liability.
Almost three out of five Minnesotans say they don't think the governor is a good role model.
However, although the honeymoon period traditionally afforded newly elected politicians may be over, it appears that the populace does not view Ventura as hopeless. A smaller majority (57 percent) said they disagreed that Ventura has become "an embarrassment to the state."
About two-thirds view him as a strong leader, and most say they think he "sides with the average citizen" and is "in tune" with them on the issues.
Ventura's spokesman, John Wodele, said the findings are a relief, given the crescendo of criticism since publication of the Playboy interview.
Ventura "is always going to be controversial; we're not going to change that, and it's heartening that the citizens are still tolerant of the governor's unorthodox style of leadership," he said.
The approval inevitably would decline from what was an historic high for any Minnesota governor, and administration officials expected some drop-off, Wodele said. He argued that the findings are somewhat analogous to public opinion of President Clinton.
"They like the way he's doing his job but are concerned about his behavior," he said.
Aided by a robust economy, huge budget surpluses and record tax cuts and rebates that came through for almost all citizens this summer, Ventura in July achieved the highest approval rating of any Minnesota governor (73 percent) since the Minnesota Poll was established in the 1940s.
But nine months into his term, after his provocative statements in Playboy, the bloom is off the rose, at least temporarily.
In the Playboy interview, Ventura opined that organized religion is for the "weak-minded." He also said unkind things about fat people, suggested that the perpetrators in the Navy Tailhook scandal were misunderstood, and joked that he would like to be reincarnated as a 38DD bra.
Some of Ventura's most inflammatory statements in Playboy, considered a sexist magazine by some, had to do with women's issues, and it appears to have cost him significant support among women.
The decline in approval among women was particularly steep, from 70 percent in July to 44 percent in the latest poll. Among men, approval dropped from 77 to 63 percent. The gap between men and women has widened from 7 percentage points to 19.
Ventura's critics have speculated for months that his penchant for blunt statements and general tactlessness would create an accumulation of offended citizens and interest groups, and eventually, declining popularity.
Ventura may well bounce back from this latest imbroglio. Voter approval usually correlates with the state of the economy, and perceptions about fundamental issues, such as policy decisions on taxes and education, tend to outweigh personality traits.
Over the next four weeks, Ventura will outline a set of goals and policy initiatives, focusing on strengthening the economy and improving education. This week he travels to Harvard University and will appear on "Late Night with David Letterman" in New York City. In November, he will go to Japan on a trade mission.
But lost good will can be hard to regain, and some poll respondents said Ventura has wasted his opportunity.
One of the more thoroughly fed-up respondents was Kristin Solid, a 28-year-old artist and teacher from Minneapolis:
"He's just so in-your-face. He speaks without thinking, seems very egotistical, as if his views are the only ones that matter," she said. " . . . I understand that he's not a typical politician, and that may be a good thing, but it doesn't give him the right to put people down."
Solid is one of many Minnesotans who weren't Ventura voters but gave him a chance after his election.
"I didn't vote for him because he lacked experience," she said. "Then I thought this might be OK, but now I can't believe it's been just eight months. He gets more and more offensive, and the amazing thing is he gets mad at the press and the public for his lack of control."
Other poll respondents expressed continuing support, with reservations.
"We've come to expect controversy from him, but I think I'm more tolerant than most people," said Janice Dean of Fridley, a 60-year-old administrative facilitator for a computer company. She said she disapproved, "but not completely," of the statements in the Playboy article.
"I like the people he's picked to run things, and I've been impressed with that from the beginning," Dean said. As a former teacher, she likes his strong support for public education. "Maybe he has realized that he is going to have to get back on track with the business of Minnesota. I'm not quite ready to throw him out with the bath water."