RLINGTON, Va. - Governor Jesse Ventura of Minnesota, the nation's highest elected official from the Reform Party, says he will not endorse Pat Buchanan even if he wins the party's presidential nomination next year.
''No, no, I don't think I can support him,'' Ventura told USA Today in an interview appearing in yesterday's editions. ''I find him very shallow. He says he is a grass-roots guy, but I find that fraudulent.''
While Ventura has been cool to Buchanan's candidacy in the past, his remarks in the interview, conducted in his office in St. Paul, were his most pointed to date.
His comments come as the national party is divided between Ventura supporters and those loyal to party founder Ross Perot, whose allies support Buchanan.
Dean Barkley, a top aide to Ventura, suggested yesterday that Buchanan is a phony.
''Here's a guy who's trying to portray himself as an outsider, a grass-roots kind of guy and he's been an insider his whole life,'' Barkley said, mentioning Buchanan's days as a speechwriter for President Nixon. ''It just seems a little self-serving to now call himself an outsider.''
Ventura has been encouraging others to enter the presidential race from the Reform Party, including New York real estate developer Donald Trump. The two plan a joint appearance in Minnesota next week.
Ventura told the newspaper that if the Reform Party race comes down to a contest between Buchanan and Trump - who is considering the idea - he would support Trump.
Barkley said Ventura has never said he would consider endorsing Buchanan. Still, in his book - ''I Ain't Got Time To Bleed: Reworking the Body Politic From the Bottom Up,'' Ventura said he would back the eventual Reform Party presidential nominee.
Buchanan's campaign did not return telephone calls seeking comments.
Ventura told the newspaper the Reform Party needs a centrist candidate, and that although Buchanan has ''softened his rhetoric,'' he remains a right-wing candidate determined to bring his conservative cadre into the party.
Ventura said that would harm the party's attempt to grow into a viable national alternative.
Barkley said, ''I don't think we've ever kept it a secret that it would be very difficult for us to address the issues that Pat Buchanan runs on. They're about as opposite ours as can be.''
Ventura's spokesman, John Wodele, in a reference to Buchanan, said the governor ''has a very difficult time with strident, right-wing conservatives' approaches to certain social issues.''
Barkley cited Buchanan's ''preoccupation with the abortion issue, his seeming intolerance of people who aren't particularly in a mold that he believes represents America.'' Barkley also mentioned Buchanan's trade protectionist positions.
Ventura is much more liberal on social issues. He supports abortion rights and gay rights and believes in free trade.
