Transcript: Jesse Ventura on Larry King (5-21-08)

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KING: Are you surprised that the polls say that about 85 percent of America is in discontent?

VENTURA: No, that doesn't surprise me a bit. Because when you look at the situation in the country today, I mean we're $9 trillion in debt now, Larry. That's -- both parties are responsible for that. I mean I did a little bit of math. And you figure if there's 300 million people in America and we're $9 trillion in debt, that means a baby born tomorrow will be saddled with $30,000 worth of debt before they've even taken their first breath of life. Now, to me, that's unconscionable.

How can we do that? How can we look at the people who run our government and say they're doing a good job when you have a generation that may never get out of debt because of what we've put them into?

[...]Why does it cost so much to run for office?

VENTURA: Well, because -- I don't know really, Larry, because you're talking to the wrong person there. I don't -- I don't spend to get in office more than I'll make while doing the office. In Minnesota, I raised $300,000. But over the course of four years as governor, I made $480,000. So I really am not the person to ask.

But on a serious note, maybe a little bit, I think, in some ways, usually it's because you have to get recognized. You don't have name recognition, so you have to purchase it or buy it. But in the case of the presidential election, they certainly all have that. So, I don't know. It's just a matter of, I guess they think if they spend money rather than ideas, they can win it with money as opposed to ideas. I don't know.

[...]KING: I know you disagree with a lot of his politics, but aren't you -- don't you have a little emotional tilt toward John McCain in that of his war service record?

You were a Navy SEAL. Don't you feel a bond?

VENTURA: Well, I greatly respect Senator McCain. Certainly we have a bond. We're both Navy men. And I wish his well. But what troubles me more, Larry, is hypocrisy. And in the case of John McCain, we have a huge hypocrisy in this country.

And that is this -- how is it that a federal employee -- if you work for the federal government, you're required to retire by age 65. And yet you can run for president and be the head of the very federal government, have the most stressful job in America and you can do it at any age. I don't get that.

John McCain could not get hired by the federal government to work, but he can become the leader of the federal government, because -- he couldn't get hired because he's too old.