Maverick wants none of the above for president

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Jesse Ventura isn't holding his breath to find out who wins the Democratic presidential nomination, or for that matter who takes the White House in the November election.

"It's irrelevant," says the one-time professional wrestler and former Minnesota governor whose election to that post in 1998 as a rank outsider and third-party unknown shocked the national political establishment.

"I oppose the two-party system. All it is is more of the two-party dictatorship," he said. "What I wish we had on the ballot for all our elections is 'none of the above' so you could show you have no confidence in the government.

"It would be amazing just how often 'none of the above' would win ... the only difference I see is that if a Democrat wins (in November) our taxes will go up. That's not saying they spend any more or less than the Republicans but the Republicans put it on a credit card, or the national debt."

Even Barack Obama, who is vying with Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination and is the freshest face in contention, would wind up being a "puppet on a string" if he wins, said Ventura, who left office after one term.

The two-party system, Ventura believes, blocks changes he would like to see -- such as abolishing the federal income tax in favor of a national sales tax.

He made the comments in an interview during a trip promoting his latest book "Don't Start the Revolution Without Me." The book is a tour of his often contentious days as governor, with commentary on everything from the Iraq war -- "a stupid war" -- to marijuana -- the excuses for legalizing it are fast disappearing.

COLLECTIVE EGO

If the war is not on the front burner of the political debate now or later, it should be, he said, because the country's current economic woes can be tied to it. It should be on voters' minds in November, he said, because "We've got people dying over there."

"We carry a large ego and when we do something that is categorically wrong we have trouble admitting we did something wrong," he said.

That's a picture he sees better than some, he said, living part of the year in Mexico, looking in on U.S. life rather than being part of it. He lives in a remote area "an hour from pavement," solar powered and "off the grid."

While his book is true to life throughout, the last chapter veers into fantasy, Ventura said, in which he inserts himself into what would happen if a truly strong independent ever makes a serious bid for the presidency.

In his scenario, Ventura is assassinated while leading a protest at the White House, where President George W. Bush has bombed nuclear sites in Iran, declared martial law and postponed the 2008 presidential election.

"I used myself as an example ... if a third party candidate legitimately becomes a threat, he would be assassinated physically or credibility-wise. The powers that be would never allow a true independent to become president," he said.

For now, Ventura added, he has no plans of seeking the presidency. "It's too difficult, too hard. You have to jump through different hoops in every state," he said.

(Editing by Andrew Stern and Philip Barbara)