Inside the Beltway: Jesse Ventura mulls a White House run

NEWS AND OPINION:

Forty Democrats are mulling a run for the White House according to some counts, many fueled by their disbelief that President Trump not only won the 2016 election, but that he’s still in office. Yes, well. It’s going to be a noisy lead-up to 2020 — and now we have one more name to add, and he is among the first of the independent hopefuls.

Pro-wrestling kingpin and former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura still eyes the big ring. The big political ring, that is. He, too, is considering a presidential run.

“I’m always interested,” Mr. Ventura told TMZ, the celebrity gossip news site. “The Greenies have shown interest — the Green Party. I’ll go to Mexico now for a couple of months and that’s where I’ll make my ultimate decision, when I get down there and clear my head about whether to do it or not. There are a lot of factors involved. See, I don’t want to run and elect Trump.”

There’s a link to the president, though — and it dates back two decades to 1998 when the 6-foot-4-inch Mr. Ventura won the race for Minnesota governor, advising voters to forget “politics as usual” and give him a chance.

“The irony there is that his run for Minnesota governor which came out of the blue and stunned Donald Trump so much that legend has it that it inspired him to say, ’You know, maybe I can do that for another office,’” points out Fox News host Neil Cavuto.

Interesting, and it’s evidence that politics has always been full of quirks and bold propositions.

But in 2013, Mr. Ventura also noted during a personal appearance in Minnesota that it might be an “opportune time” for him to run for the White House in 2016, and he named radio host Howard Stern as his possible running mate — Ventura/Stern. Two years later, Mr. Ventura told his audience on “Off the Grid,” an online broadcast, that he hoped then-candidate Trump would become the GOP nominee for president — and name him running mate. That would have been Trump/Ventura. And now? That would be a mystery.

A PATCHWORK PORTRAIT OF BUSH 41

Journalists have been on their best behavior for the most part, with their coverage of the passing of former President George H.W. Bush. But it was not always thus says Rich Noyes, senior analyst for Newsbusters.org — who consulted records dating back to 1988 for an analysis of coverage of the late president’s campaign and years in office.

“The media’s current appreciation for the 41st President stands in sharp contrast to how they covered his presidential campaigns and his administration. When Bush was still in the arena, liberal reporters were among his most vociferous critics, who deplored his campaign tactics, accused him of exacerbating racial tensions, and bashed him for failing to adopt liberal policy positions,” writes Mr. Noyes, citing multiple stories which diminished the 41st president’s many accomplishments and approval ratings.

Mr. Noyes also pointed out that a poll of Washington media bureau chiefs and correspondents found that just 7 percent voted for George H.W. Bush in 1992, vs. 89 percent who voted for Bill Clinton — reflecting longtime liberal bias in the press.

Meanwhile, the news coverage has been open to interpretation in the last 48 hours as journalists explore new angles on a national event. A few headlines of note:

“The last WASP President” (The Atlantic); “Beware the Bush family image-rehab machine” (New York magazine); “The Whitewashing of George H.W. Bush” (The New Republic); “George H.W. Bush was the accidental catalyst that built the new Republican Party” (The Washington Post); “Media swipes at George H.W. Bush legacy fuel outrage” (Fox News); “Why are conservatives so furious about the links between George H.W. Bush and Donald Trump?” (Salon); “What George H.W. Bush’s presidency says about Trump and Kavanaugh” (Vox); George H.W. Bush told son, George W., ’I love you, too’ before he died” (The Associated Press); “Why George H.W. Bush wanted Trump at his funeral” (CNN); “George H.W. Bush Was the Last President to Serve in Combat, World War II” (Daily Signal).

ONE LAST PAIR

George H.W. Bush was famous for the astonishing variety of socks he wore, so much so that the city of Houston has asked residents to don special socks to honor him this week. The Republican Party also offered “HW” socks at its online store for years.

Jim McGrath, who was spokesman for both first lady Barbara Bush and 41, has revealed the design of the last pair of socks the late president will ever wear.

“The 41st President will be carried to his final rest wearing socks that pay tribute to his lifetime of service, starting as an 18 year-old naval aviator in war. That legacy is now being carried, in part, by the brave, selfless men and women aboard CVN77,” Mr. McGrath tweeted Monday.

The number designates the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush, which deployed in 1975. Along with nine other vessels in its class, it is the largest warship in the world.

The socks are gray knit with black gusset, and a formation of six fighter jets with gold-tipped wings and streaming contrails — along with a miniature set of gold aviator’s wings.

IMMIGRANTS FORM EVERYWHERE

There were 12 million immigrants from Mexico living in the U.S. in 2016, 45 percent of whom were in the country illegally, according to a Pew Research Center analysis released Monday. Mexico is the country’s largest source of immigrants, making up 27 percent of all U.S. immigrants.

While there have been declines in the total numbers of Mexican immigrants living in the U.S. illegally, arrivals from other nations are “steady,” the analysis says. In 2017, the U.S. Border Patrol apprehended 130,454 Mexicans seeking entry — and 180,077 hopefuls from other nations, the latter number up from about 11,800 in 2010.

“Mexican unauthorized immigrant adults are more likely to be long-term residents of the U.S. As of 2016, 80 percent had lived in the U.S. for more than 10 years, while only 8 percent had been in the country for five years or less. By comparison, 52 percent of unauthorized immigrant adults from countries other than Mexico had lived in the U.S. a decade or more as of 2016, while 28 percent had lived in the U.S. for five years or less,” the analysis said.

According to previous Pew Research data, those “other” countries span the globe — Central America, South America, South and East Asia, the Middle East, North Africa, Europe, Canada and the Caribbean.

POLL DU JOUR

• 39 percent overall are confident in the U.S. government’s ability to “reduce activities that cause climate change”; 40 percent of Republicans, 36 percent of independents and 43 percent of Democrats agree.

• 57 percent of Americans are not confident the government can do this; 55 percent of Republicans, 61 percent of independents and 55 percent of Democrats agree.

• 42 percent overall say it is likely that Congress will take action on climate change in the future; 41 percent of Republicans, 44 percent of independents and 42 percent of Democrats agree.

• 51 percent overall do not think it is likely that Congress will take action on climate change “in the next few years”; 55 percent of Republicans, 51 percent of independents and 56 percent of Democrats agree.

Source: A Monmouth University poll of 802 U.S. adults conducted Nov. 9-12 and released Friday.

• Facts and hearsay to jharper@washingtontimes.com