Nearly two decades ago, P.J. O’Rourke demanded in The Atlantic Monthly: “How could any part of America elect a professional wrestler as governor? Why isn’t he noticeably worse than other governors?” He meant Jesse “The Body” Ventura, whose gubernatorial tenure in Minnesota represented the only significant electoral win on behalf of Ross Perot’s long-forgotten Reform Party and ended with governor and voters booing one another. But the populism he represented continues to flourish as well as baffle.
How can it happen? And why isn’t it worse than what the professional class and its claque of pundits offers?
