Mark Z. Barabak (usually of LA Times) has an extremely interesting piece in this issue of The Washington Monthly on whether Arnold is quickly becoming Jesse Ventura redux. Barabak writes,

If the narrative arc sounds familiar—a charismatic, unconventional governor comes to the statehouse in a weird election, succeeds at minor reforms, but soon overreaches with ambitions exceeding his political skills—that's because we've seen this movie before.

Former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura won office in 1998 as an independent in a fluky three-way contest. He began his tenure with promise and in his first year achieved some modest accomplishments. He managed to push an on-time budget through the Democratic Senate and Republican House with relative ease. He also made a start at improving public transit and reducing congestion in the Twin Cities area. By the end of his second year, however, voters grew weary of Ventura's macho act, impatient with his inability to balance the state budget or work with lawmakers, and indifferent to initiatives such as creating a unicameral legislature. Lawmakers, once cowed, gleefully struck back, slashing—among other things—money for the governor's security detail. Ventura left office bitter and mocked, his “populist-centrist” reforms largely unfulfilled.

The danger for Arnold Schwarzenegger is falling into a similar spiral. Voters are clearly less awed by their celebrity governor in his second year in office, and he's staked out ambitious goals that would try even a far more practiced politician. “He's shown himself to be someone who really can communicate with voters,” says Tony Quinn, a non-partisan Sacramento analyst. But more than any philosophy or set of policies, he suggests, Schwarzenegger's tenure, thus far, has been primarily about salesmanship. “The problem he seems to be having now is getting a consensus on what we need to sell,” Quinn adds. In short, the business of governing.

This week, the Democrats cleared the field for State Treasurer Phil Angelides to run against Arnold. With Schwarzenegger stuck at a 40% approval rating, it's not entirely inconceivable that Arnold will go the way of Jesse.

In other Ventura-related news, Dean Barkley, former advisor to the Minnesota Governor and United States Senator (for a month), has joined Kinky Friedman's third party gubernatorial campaign in Texas. The AP's Kelley Shannon has the story:

Former Sen. Dean Barkley, who has recently been a consultant and lobbyist, will serve as campaign director and chief strategist, Friedman announced Friday.

Barkley founded Minnesota's Independence Party and in 1997 recruited Ventura, a former pro wrestler and actor, to run the following year. As governor, Ventura appointed Barkley to fill the vacancy left when Sen. Paul D. Wellstone died in a plane crash in 2002.

Friedman must collect 45,539 voter signatures after the spring 2006 primary to make the November ballot. Republican Gov. Rick Perry is seeking re-election next year, and GOP Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison and former U.S. Rep. Chris Bell, a Democrat, are among his expected challengers.

Luis Saenz, director of Perry's campaign, said of Barkley: "I'm sure he will at least be able to help the Kinkster sell more books."

This should certainly be a race to watch in the next two years. Suffice to say it will be very entertaining.