Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton were both in North Dakota on Friday for the Democratic party convention. 

In some of the articles flooding the web today, Obama was quoted as saying “Some people think the Democrats can’t win in North Dakota, so we shouldn’t put too much time in here.  I tell you what, we didn’t fly over North Dakota. We landed.”

It’s not that either Obama or Clinton are just playing up to backward farm folk.  They’re smart enough to know that North Dakota is emerging as a strong state both economically and politically.

Under the leadership of Gov. John Hoeven and with the cooperation and insight of entrepreneurs and educators across the state, North Dakota seems to be entering a new era. 

Of course, the current oil boom in the Bakken formation is playing into that.  Wind energy, biomass energy and vast coal reserves put ND in a strong position to help solve the nation’s energy needs.  Add to that the recent trade missions to South America and Korea (North Dakota has seen a terrific growth in exports) and it’s plain to see why ND is doing so well economically even though a national recession is possible. 

North Dakota also has a strong congressional delegation (Senator Kent Conrad, Senator Byron Dorgan and Representative Earl Pomeroy, all Democrats) and a strong military presence. 

Maybe Obama and Clinton are just seeing North Dakota for what it is–a state worth winning.