Jesse Ventura is no longer our governor. Let us all rise and give thanks. Jesse Ventura was certainly the most unusual governor any state has ever had, probably the most outrageous this state has suffered, but too complex to dismiss entirely and one we'll never forget. Just when you think you have him pegged, he surprises you.

As I have traveled around this country and in foreign countries, the first thing said in reaction when it became known I'm from Minnesota is … well, you know. And they aren't always laughing.

He left office as he came in: making a fool of himself and embarrassing the state. He swore and once more called the news media "jackals." Truth be told, however, the media and the governor loved each other. They had to, because each gave the other what each wanted most: attention. The crazier the governor became, the better the news stories could be written. The better the news stories, the crazier the governor was. It was one of the grandest love/hate relationships in years. Jesse, we're going to miss ya.

On the negative side, which is the larger, it can't be said better than Steven Dornfeld did on Inauguration Day in the St. Paul Pioneer-Press:

&uot;This morning Gov. Jesse Ventura leaves office after four long, painful and embarrassing years. He’ll be remembered best for his boorish antics, his childish feuds with the Legislature and the media, his shameless self-promotion and his unprecedented exploitation of the state’s highest office for personal gain.&uot;

C.J. in the Star Tribune (not Minneapolis, because those folks profess to be "the paper of the Twin Cities" or something to that effect) described Gov. Tim Pawlenty and Judge Mary Pawlenty and then commented: &uot;It will be nice to have a governor and first lady who are mature adults.&uot;

Unlike his predecessors and governors of other states, this one refused to sign a rather innocuous proclamation of The National Day of Prayer, but issued a stupid statement instead. On another occasion called those of us who take religion seriously weak-minded.

But, then, he comes around. Brownsdale native Carol Madison, writing from the Cities, reports:

"In the latest newsletter from Lonnie Titus (Chaplain of the Minnesota House of Representatives and a strong believer), there was a revelation that should take the breath away from Christians who have been praying for years. Gov. Ventura, in speaking about a month ago to a group of teenagers, said, 'I believe like Lonnie Titus … He and I think exactly alike on this and that is that God has a plan and destiny for each one of us … I wasn’t always a believer, but through my wife and a couple of close friends, in the last couple of years, I have come to believe in God and that He has a plan and destiny for my life …'"

Say what, Jesse? We hardly knew ye.

Dr. Wallace Alcorn’s commentaries appear in the Herald on Mondays