Letters to Roger

Reader Stuart Shiffman e-mails the following comments about my comparison of Arnold S. and Jesse Ventura:

Like many others you make comparisons between Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jesse Ventura that come off as an oblique attack on both. I find Arnold interesting only because he shows once again the shallowness of the media when it comes to covering politics. But I have a serious issue to raise with you and others about Jesse Ventura.

Let me preface my comments with this statement. I am not from Minnesota and did not live there during his tenure in office. I am from Illinois, a state with its own history. Yes, Jesse said and did some outrageous things. But I have never seen nor read a serious discussion of his 4 years as Governor. Minnesota did not go deeply into debt during his term. Schools did not close, government services did no go away. There is no evidence that I am aware of that Jesse was anything other than a typical state bureaucrat governor who had fights with his legislature. Why do people continue to point to Jesse as some bad example when 49 other governors are available for criticism?