WASHINGTON - Well, I guess Jesse Ventura won't be running for president after all. His decision against seeking re-election as governor of Minnesota as a third-party candidate no doubt takes care of that bit of fanciful speculation.
There was a time when the former-professional-wrestler-turned-statesman was being mentioned as the next standard-bearer for the Reform Party, launched by another pipe-dreamer, Ross Perot, in 1992 and shattered by the wrecking ball of Pat Buchanan in 2000.
But Mr. Ventura eventually broke with the Reform Party, and after early cooperation with the Democrats who controlled the state Senate and the Republicans who ran the state House, he eventually hit a brick wall. He repeatedly vetoed their legislation, only to have his vetoes overridden.
From the start, Mr. Ventura also engaged in verbal wrestling with a Minnesota State House press corps that put his personal as well as political antics under close scrutiny, leading him to characterize it as a pack of "jackals."
He goes out as he came in, ranting against politics-as-usual and those damnably nosy and critical reporters for pointing out his unorthodox approach to the governorship. It included, on the side, refereeing pro wrestling matches and doing television commentary for a third-rate football league that glorified mayhem.
His shocking election in 1998, beating Republican Mayor Norm Coleman of St. Paul (now running for the U.S. Senate) and former Vice President Hubert Humphrey's son Skip, was a wake-up call for the major parties in Minnesota and around the country. It reinforced the argument that voters were looking for a real alternative to them.
At first, Minnesotans reveled in their offbeat choice. Visitors arriving at the Twin Cities airport were confronted with shops displaying T-shirts bearing an image of Mr. Ventura's massive bald head and the declaration: "Our Governor Can Beat Up Your Governor."
But after a while, Mr. Ventura's act wore thin, and his standing in the polls plunged. Still, in another three-way race this November, his survival could not have been ruled out.
Americans have often shown a fascination with flamboyance in politics, from George Wallace of Alabama and Willie Brown of California to Edwin Edwards of Louisiana and Ed Koch of New York. But Mr. Ventura's slide and exit demonstrates again that the dreams of a successful third-party candidacy for president require not simply flair, as embodied in a Perot or a Buchanan, but rather enough experience in public affairs to convince voters they are not taking a wild gamble.
The executive director of the Libertarian Party, Steve Dasbach, had another take on Mr. Ventura's decision. "Jesse Ventura is a case study in what third parties must avoid if they want to succeed in the long term," he said.
Mr. Dasbach cited the Minnesotan's promise as a candidate not to raise taxes. He then sought increases in gas, cigarette, sales and corporate income levies to pay for a state budget that rose 22 percent under his administration. "There's no market for third-party officials who break their promises," Mr. Dasbach said.
Libertarian candidates for president have never broken their promises about what they would do if elected; they have never been in a position to do so. Like other fringe third-party groups, they have never put forward a candidate of sufficient stature, or at least of public awareness, to capture voters' imagination.
Even someone such as Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona, urged by some to try for the presidency again as a third-party candidate in 2004, would have a steep uphill climb. But at least he would not be dismissed as a joke or a zealot, as most other third-party candidates have been viewed.
Jesse Ventura, for all his initial pizazz and appeal, never made the conversion from novelty to serious politician as, for example, movie actor Ronald Reagan managed in California. And it's doubtful whether even Mr. Reagan could have pulled it off as a third-party nominee.
Jules Witcover writes from The Sun's Washington bureau. His column appears Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.