Editorial: Barkley: IP gets a serious candidate

Updated: July 15, 2008 - 6:33 PM

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The Independence Party will have a "name" candidate on the U.S. Senate ballot this fall. But instead of former Gov. Jesse Ventura, it will be his close political ally, Dean Barkley.

As with any new candidate making a July jump into a November election, Barkley will be quickly judged on what he brings -- and doesn't bring -- to the race.

He does bring political experience: He has run for office himself, and was instrumental in Ventura's "shock the world" victory in 1998. He has also gone beyond politics into policy, as director of the Office of Strategic and Long Range Planning in the Ventura administration. Barkley's even had the job before, albeit for a very brief time; Ventura as governor appointed him to serve the remainder of Sen. Paul Wellstone's term after Wellstone's death in 2002.

What Barkley doesn't bring may be even more important: The cult-of-personality, carnival campaign atmosphere that would have come with a Ventura candidacy. Voters can expect Barkley to go beyond criticizing Washington's partisan gridlock and offer constructive, workable solutions to key problems.

Ventura's strong showing in the polls suggests that neither Republican Sen. Norm Coleman nor Al Franken, his DFL challenger, has electrified the electorate. With an issues-based, substantive campaign, Barkley can both energize and elevate the debate. And, just maybe, he too can shock the world. This is Minnesota politics, after all.

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