Jesse Ventura \nMINNEAPOLIS, MN - They may change his nickname from The Body to The Mouth before Jesse Ventura's political career is over. It seems that his Playboy interview has sent the Minnesota governor's approval ratings on more than a slight downturn among Minnesotans polled by the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.
And this time, the Body's commentaries on organized religion and women's issues seem to have turned up the heat.
The paper says 68 percent of those polled (about 624 adults over this past weekend) say Ventura ought to use better judgment about when to keep his views to himself. The respondents are said to have been outraged especially over comments that organized religion "is a sham and a crutch for (the) weak-minded," and his continuing revelations about youthful indiscretions, his raw language, and his personal tastes have also become liabilities, says the paper.
Most recently, Ventura went on the warpath against the Moonlight Bunny Ranch, a Nevada brothel where Ventura admitted to having spent time in his Navy days. The ranch named one of its rooms in his honor, but Ventura has fumed publicly over the ranch's exploiting his name.
The good news? The same poll showed a smaller majority (about 57 percent) saying they don't agree Ventura has become a Minnesota embarrassment. Two-thirds view him as a strong leader, while most, the Star-Tribune says, believe he is in tune with the average citizen's issues.
Ventura also drew some ire over statements involving women's issues in the Playboy interview. The Star-Tribune says he fell from a 70 percent approval rating among women to 44 percent, with his ratings among men going from 77 to 63 percent.
