UNTIL November, the rise of a former professional wrestler and talk-radio host, Jesse Ventura, to the governorship of Minnesota was perhaps the most unlikely tale in recent American political history. Even Mr Ventura’s campaign strategist, Bill Hillsman, predicted a narrow loss for “The Body” at the three-way race in November 1998. He had booked a flight to Buenos Aires for the day after the election, which he hastily cancelled once it became clear that Mr Ventura had won with 37% of the vote against Norm Coleman, a Republican, and Skip Humphrey of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, the local Democrats.
Mr Ventura, who ran for the Reform Party founded by Ross Perot, a billionaire businessman, pitched himself as an outsider who took on the established political order. He spoke bluntly, sparred with reporters, sported a yellow feather boa at his inaugural ball and prided himself on his independence from special interests. Journalists and pollsters underestimated the appeal of Mr Ventura’s he-man message to “shake up the old order”, especially for male voters.
Once the election had been won, “nobody [in Jesse’s team] knew...Continue reading
Source: United States http://ift.tt/2iXUjU5
EmoticonEmoticon