But at least they have no illusions about attaining higher office. They know their fellow Americans will elect a Montanan president about the time a gal from our great state is crowned Miss America. It just ain't gonna happen.

Minnesota, on the other hand, has produced a few presidential candidates, and this Coleman guy evidently figures he might win the lottery himself one day. As a result, he is ambition personified, political aspiration in a tailored suit. When he grins, you could rent out advertising space on his teeth.

It made me appreciate the workaday nature of Burns and Baucus: punch the clock, bring home the bacon, raise millions, run again, repeat.