Pollster John McLaughlin made a point yesterday about how well-liked North Dakota governor John Hoeven — likely to run for Dorgan’s seat — is. I don’t have a lot of firsthand knowledge of him, but ran into him while I was in Bismarck this past September. I was at the University of Mary there and you could have mistaken him for a beloved family member at the celebration. He was there for the inauguration of the school’s new president and talked about the impact the priest who was being installed had made on his own family, a counsellor and teacher to his son. He also talked about the importance of character in leadership and the treasure that is schools with missions that care about such things. It was a small run-in, but it was hard not to notice likability and depth there.