5/11/2009

Larry King: Joining us now, Jesse Ventura, former wrestler, former governor of Minnesota, former Navy SEAL, the author of “Don’t Start The Revolution Without Me.” That book is now out in paperback. Welcome to have you back, Jesse. Now, you see the cover of the book. How is Obama doing?

Jesse Ventura: Too early to tell, Larry. Really, and you know, in my opinion, George Bush is the worst president in my lifetime [...], so Barack Obama, President Obama inherited something I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy. You know, two wars and an economy that’s borderline depression, so it’s far too early to judge him in 100 days in. I think if you have me back about two years from now, I can give you a much better idea of how he is doing.

Larry King: He poked fun at himself at the White House correspondents there at Saturday night. Let’s watch.

Barack Obama: Finally, I believe that my next 100 days will be so successful I will be able to complete them in 72 days.

(LAUGHTER)

Barack Obama: And on the 73rd day, I will rest.

(LAUGHTER)

Larry King: He’s very likeable.

Jesse Ventura: Oh yeah. He’s very intelligent, which is a change from our previous president.

Larry King: All right already with Bush, okay?

Jesse Ventura: No, no, no. I live in Mexico now, Larry, so I do a lot of reading. I don’t watch much TV and in this year’s reading, I covered Bush’s life. I covered Guantanamo and a few other subjects and I’m very disturbed about it. I’m bothered over Guantanamo because it seems we’ve created our own Hanoi Hilton.

Larry King: Yeah.

Jesse Ventura: And if we can live with that, I have a problem. I would criticize President Obama on this level. It’s a good thing I’m not president because I would prosecute every person that was involved in that torture. I would prosecute the people that did it. I would prosecute the people that ordered it because torture is against the law.

Larry King: You’re a Navy SEAL.

Jesse Ventura: That’s right and I was waterboarded, so I know – at SERE school, Survival Escape Resistance Evasion, it was a required school you had to go to prior to going into the combat zone, which in my era was Vietnam. All of us had to go there. We were all, in essence, every one of us was waterboarded. It is torture.

Larry King: Well, what was it like?

Jesse Ventura: It’s drowning. It gives you the complete sensation that you are drowning and it’s no good because you… I’ll put it to you this way. You give me a waterboard, Dick Cheney and one hour and I’ll have him confess to the Sharon Tate murders.

Larry King: (LAUGHS). Even though you know it’s not going to happen. Even though before it, you know you’re not going to drown.

Jesse Ventura: You don’t know it. If it’s done wrong, you certainly could drown. You could swallow your tongue. You could do a whole bunch of stuff to you if it’s done wrong or… it’s torture, Larry.

Larry King: So you…

Jesse Ventura: It’s torture.

Larry King: Do you think United States-Mexico relations are improving?

Jesse Ventura: I can solve that problem for you, too, Larry.

Larry King: Go.

Jesse Ventura: Well, if we have anybody with some courage out there, a politician with courage, there’s an old saying that you study history or you’re destined to repeat it.

Well, what we have now is identical to the prohibition of alcohol and all you have to do is lift the prohibition on drugs and all of that stops at the border. My question is this, are we more offended over murder or marijuana?

Larry King: So you’re saying let the drugs come in and then the cartels…

Jesse Ventura: No. Let our country legalize.

Larry King: Oh, and then the cartels…

Jesse Ventura: Legalize. The cartels are then out of business. Just like Al Capone with the prohibition of alcohol. Capone became more powerful than the government. People are going to do drugs, Larry. It’s that simple and we need to take our heads out of the sand and treat it like an adult.

Larry King: I meant to ask you. You’re a Navy SEAL.

Jesse Ventura: Yeah.

Larry King: And they have a tremendous image.

Jesse Ventura: Yeah.

Larry King: Was there ever a time in your life when you thought fear would overcome you?

Jesse Ventura: Sure, the first time I jumped out of an airplane. I was afraid of heights. I joined the Navy SEALs so I would conquer that fear.

Larry King: Why didn’t you join the parachutists?

Jesse Ventura: The what?

Larry King: The parachutists.

Jesse Ventura: Because I was 18 and at that time you joined the military if you wanted to.

Larry King: Well, I mean, if you have a fear of heights, you’ll join the Air Force and be a paratrooper.

Jesse Ventura: Why, I was a paratrooper.

Larry King: Well… that’s part of the Navy SEAL’s training.

Jesse Ventura: SEAL means Sea, Air, Land, Larry.

Larry King: Oh.

Jesse Ventura: We go to Fort Benning right where the Army does and jump out of the same planes with them at Fort Benning, Georgia and we cause them a multitude of problems because we can’t be prosecuted out on Article 15. The only thing the Navy has is a captain’s mast. In fact, when we were sent to Army jump school, we were told by the old guys we better go there and cause trouble, so we did.

First thing we did, we scaled up and spraypainted “SEAL Team 1″ on the water tower and then, of course, denied it, because as a good SEAL, Larry, “admit nothing, deny everything and make counter accusations”.

Larry King: We’ll be back with Milk Toast Jesse Ventura.

– Break —

Larry King: [Your book is] one terrific read. I didn’t tell you that the last time. It really is. Now, what with the Al Franken story? Who is going to sit in the Senate in your state? You only got one senator.

Jesse Ventura: Well, that appears Mr. Franken will. He’s ahead and the last I heard it goes to the Minnesota Supreme Court in June and whenever they rule on it, that should be the end of it because the feds should have nothing to do with it, Larry.

Now, the Coleman people have said they’re going to take it to federal court, but I think it should be thrown out because…

Larry King: You don’t think the precedent was Bush and Gore?

Jesse Ventura: What’s that?

Larry King: That they will hear a state question.

Jesse Ventura: They shouldn’t on an election like that because that’s a states’ right issue. The states determine who they want to send to Washington. Now, the Bush v. Gore thing, that was the president, which was national.

Larry King: Do you think it’s embarrassing to Minnesota?

Jesse Ventura: No, not at all. It’s the procedure. When you have an election that that’s close, you want to make sure you get the right decision, I would think.

Larry King: You’re not criticizing the incumbent for taking it higher?

Jesse Ventura: Well, I criticize him only that Coleman has always been a hypocrite. He never does what he says. He said on election night when he won, that Franken should drop out and he should be the senator. Well, then the same should hold true after the recount.

Larry King: Right back with more of Jesse Ventura on this edition of Larry King Live. A Supreme Court seat is open. Justice Ventura, by the way, you don’t have a lawyer to be on the Court. We’ll talk about it next. Don’t go away.

– Break —

Larry King:A lot of things to go into this, Jesse. What do you make of Cheney-Limbaugh? Limbaugh is a better Republican than Powell?

Jesse Ventura: Well, you know, I don’t have a lot of respect for Dick Cheney. Here’s a guy who got five deferments from the Vietnam War. Clearly he’s a coward. He wouldn’t go when it was his time to go and now, he’s a chicken hawk. Now, he’s this big, tough guy who wants this hardcore policy and he’s the guy that sanctioned all these tortures by calling it enhanced interrogation?

Larry King: Do you think Rush Limbaugh is a better Republican then Colin Powell.

Jesse Ventura: No. Not at all. In fact, if you compare the two, let’s look at Colin Powell who was a war hero who strapped it on for his country.

Larry King: Twice.

Jesse Ventura: And didn’t run and hide and then you look at Dick Cheney who ran and hid. Why, I have no respect for Dick Cheney.

Larry King: Okay.

Jesse Ventura: I have tremendous respect for General Powell.

Larry King: Are you going to run for office again?

Jesse Ventura: No, but I would tell you this. I’d like to put out right now that if relations get good with Cuba, I wish Barack Obama, President Obama would make me the first ambassador to Cuba if we get to that point because I went there as a governor. I felt comfortable with the Cuban people. I met with Fidel Castro when I was there as governor. In fact, Fidel Castro’s quote to me, he looked me in the eyes and said, “You’re a man of great courage.”

And I said to him, “Well, you don’t even know me. How can you say that?”

He said, “Because you defied your president to come here.”

Larry King: Do you think it’s time that this non-recognition ends?

Jesse Ventura: Absolutely. It’s ridiculous. I mean, we have relations with Vietnam now. We have relations with every other country around the world, but this island 90 miles off our coast we still have this ridiculous embargo. You know, one thing interesting about Cuba, the Cuban people have never ever burned an American flag down there. They love the American people. They just dislike our government.

Larry King: Do you think it’s coming, though, to an end, that we will have relations?

Jesse Ventura: I would like to think so. It’s long overdue.

Larry King: And letting relatives go?

Jesse Ventura: I think it should be opened up. Why? We are supposed to be in a free country, Larry. How come I can’t go there on vacation?

Larry King: Because the State Department says it’s regulated.

Jesse Ventura: Exactly, but we’re supposed to be a free country. We’re not at war with them.

Larry King: We’re announcing it here tonight that maybe if we open relations, you would be happy to be the ambassador.

Jesse Ventura: I would love to be the ambassador to Cuba.

Larry King: Would you ever want to run for office again?

Jesse Ventura: I don’t so. I’m enjoying myself attempting to become the best surfer I can be down in the Baja in Mexico. Always remember this, Larry. Surfing is a dedication and it’s a life dedication to do it, and if someone were that dedicated to religion, would they call him a religious bum?

Larry King: Okay, but you’re a very big man. Is surfing…

Jesse Ventura: That’s why I’m losing weight.

Larry King: Is surfing difficult?

Jesse Ventura: It’s harder, but I want to get my weight down another 30 pounds, but let’s remember the greatest surfer in the world, Laird Hamilton, is 6 foot 3-1/2 and weighs 220 pounds.

Larry King: Is it true that once a SEAL, always a SEAL?

Jesse Ventura: Aabsolutely. Would you like my poetry?

Larry King: In a minute.

Jesse Ventura: Okay.

Larry King: Wanda Sykes, the comedienne took a hard hit at Rush Limbaugh during her performance last night, Saturday night at the White House Correspondence. Watch this and we’ll have the governor to comment.

Wanda Sykes: To me that’s treason. He’s not saying anything differently than what Osama bin Laden is saying. You know, you might want to look into this, sir, because I think Rush Limbaugh was the 20th hijacker. But he was just so strung out on OxyContin he missed his flight.

(LAUGHTER)

Jesse Ventura: She might be right. She might be right.

Larry King: Pretty funny. Have you always been outspoken, even when you were a SEAL?

Jesse Ventura: No, I was known as…

Larry King: Even among your SEALs, among your SEALites?

Jesse Ventura: No, no. Well, with the guys I served with, I was probably outspoken. But I wasn’t in situations where you took orders from your officers and things like that when you’re in the military.

Larry King: You took orders.

Jesse Ventura: Absolutely you did.

Larry King: You’re a good soldier.

Jesse Ventura: Absolutely, sailor.

Larry King: Sailor, sorry.

Jesse Ventura: Now, my poetry, Larry.

Larry King: Following this message. Hold on while I want tease it.

Jesse Ventura: Okay, all right. Okay.

Larry King: Your calls, too, but poetry from Ventura is next.

This is just in from Roger Neal. He’s with the PR firm that represents the Miss California Organization. Carrie Prejean nor any of her reps ever asked permission of Miss California USA Pageant officials for Carrie to appear at the National Organization for Marriage press conference. There was never any behind-the-scene talks. This statement by Miss Gallagher is 100 percent untrue.

For Maggie Demas suggested this happened as an untruth. Everything Carrie has done from two days after Miss USA through today has been without permission from the directors of the Miss California USA Pageant.

What do you make of that squabble?

Jesse Ventura: I think it’s much ado about nothing.

Larry King: What do you think of gay marriage?

Jesse Ventura: I don’t think marriage should even be in government. I think it should only be decided in the private sector. That way if the church doesn’t want to recognize it, they are the private sector and they can so choose. The government should only recognize civil unions.

Larry King: What do you…

Jesse Ventura: And that way you don’t have to put down what sex you are.

Larry King: Would you go into the Supreme Court? You don’t have to be a lawyer.

Jesse Ventura: Would I go on it? No.

Larry King: No.

Jesse Ventura: It would take me too much from surfing.

Larry King: Yeah.

Jesse Ventura: Are you ready for my poem now, Larry?

Larry King: Go, poem, poem of Ventura.

Jesse Ventura: Here we go. On the night that Jesus Christ supposedly rose from the dead, the Navy SEAL shot three pirates straight through the head.

Larry King: That’s right. That was the day, right?

Jesse Ventura: That’s right.

Larry King: Wooo, you’re going to make it a song. What about that story with the SEALs? Is that…

Jesse Ventura: Because that is how they did their job. They’re highly trained. They’re the best we have and it didn’t surprise me a bit that they were that successful because they are the best trained men we have.

Larry King: Boulder, Colorado, a call for Jesse Ventura. Hello.

MAN FROM BOULDER, COLORADO: Hi, Governor Ventura, I was just wondering. You said you have moved to Mexico. Is that because you’re so dissatisfied with politics in general, in the United States, and would you consider moving back because we really need people like you and your voice here in the United States?

Jesse Ventura: I still live here half the year. No, I moved to Mexico because of the weather and the surfing and the lifestyle. I live an hour from pavement and an hour from electricity. I live off the grid down there and that changes your whole perspective of the world when you do that.

Larry King: Lakewood, California. Hello. Lakewood, are you there?

MAN FROM LAKEWOOD, CALIFORNIA: Yeah, Mr. Ventura.

Jesse Ventura: Yeah, go ahead.

MAN FROM LAKEWOOD, CALIFORNIA: Why don’t you get involved with the Congress in the discussion about waterboarding since you have the experience and the personal knowledge that it’s torture, disputing Cheney on this.

Jesse Ventura: Well, first of all, they didn’t ask me and second of all, anybody that’s ever been waterboarded will tell you it’s torture. Dick Cheney has never even been in the service.

And in fact, had Dick Cheney gone in the service, he would had never shot that guy because there’s not an accident with a weapon. You don’t have an accident. It’s, you don’t know what you’re doing.

Larry King: Did the Vietnamese, North Vietnamese, Vietcong used waterboarding?

Jesse Ventura: I assume they did.

Larry King: Has it been widely used in war when you capture prisoners?

Jesse Ventura: Well… we were using it at the SERE school back in 1970 when I went to SERE school, Survival, Escape, Resistance and Evasion. That’s where I was waterboarded. All of us were and apparently that’s what they were using there because they were trying to prepare you for it.

Larry King: What was the purpose of waterboarding our own servicemen?

Jesse Ventura: I don’t know. I guess so you’d know if you got captured that this is what you could face, I guess. I know for a fact that it was worthless to us because everybody in my platoon, we all took a vow that we’ll go out in a blaze of glory. We’ll never get captured.

Larry King: Is it true that a lot of time extreme torture works in reverse and they lie?

Jesse Ventura: Oh, absolutely, and that’s why torture is no good in a court of law because if you’re torturing someone, they’re going to tell you what they think you want to hear to stop the torture.

Let me say this, they say it has prevented things by us torturing.

Larry King: Yeah.

Jesse Ventura: If that’s the case, then why haven’t we caught Bin Laden? Because we got his people and if we torture them, they ought to be able to tell us where he is at. You see, it don’t work. We haven’t captured Bin Laden. We haven’t done anything. Torture does not work.

Larry, it’s my pleasure.

Larry King: Thank you, my man. Jesse Venture. Don’t forget, “Don’t Start The Revolution Without Me” is out in paperback.