If he came from a bigger state, he would be mentioned as presidential timber, with his sharp wit and clean speaking style. If he came from a state with a Democratic Governor, he'd be mentioned as a vp possibility. But as it is, he's the sharpest policy strategist in the Senate, able to win big in Red State North Dakota with a combination of populism and budget mastery. He's also been itching to open fire on the Republican flank - last year advancing the idea that the Democrats could force votes on popular policy positions.
Now he's dropping the cross hairs on the toothless watch dog which is the Republican Senate, and is about to launch a plan that will cut into the flanks of the wholly-headed mamoth that is the Republican caucus. Once upon a time early Americans hunted small brained pachyderms in North Dakota, and now Senator Byron Dorgan is going to give us an updated version.
And he's going to do it alternating his "gee shucks" nerdy grin, and pounding out the very long list of "these are the facts" in a Sargent Friday demeanor that is going to make compelling television, no matter how hard cable tries to bury it.