If Democrats want to retake the West, they just need more likable people running for office, according to Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer.

The state's first Democratic governor since 1988 spoke Tuesday at a Hinckley Institute of Politics forum. He was also named a 2006 Hinckley Fellow.

Utah Sen. Patrice Arent, D-Murray, one of the few non-students in a room of about 75 people, asked Schweitzer how — short of "cloning" him — Democrats could regain control in the West.

Schweitzer said Democrats in the forefront have not been as likable as Republicans. Democrats can be smart and passionate about their ideas, he added, but if they're not likable, they won't win a political race.

A little luck also helps.

"It is more important to be lucky than good — it's true," Schweitzer said.

Like the time he won a 4-H Club steer judging contest — the judge apparently turned the wrong way and mistakenly slapped his steer on the behind to signal the winner.

Dressed Tuesday in head-to-toe denim and a bolo tie, Schweitzer recalled his cowboy youth, when the most important lessons in life and politics had been learned before age 11.

"The journey is more important than the destination," he said after describing how he came in dead last for his horsemanship in another 4-H contest.

Schweitzer figured the reason a Democrat finally won the top office in Montana might have been due to "Republican fatigue."

"I was just in the right place at the right time," said Schweitzer, who had never been elected to a political seat before taking office in 2005.

His administration has already eliminated a tax that hurt small-business owners, launched a new scholarship program for public higher education, pumped more money into the K-12 system than any time in history and mandated that teachers emphasize American Indian heritage in classes on Montana history.

Schweitzer boasted about a $1 tax on tobacco that helps fund a health insurance program for small businesses.

Also, by 2015, the governor said, 15 percent of the power produced in his state will come from wind and solar energy and will be affordable for families. "It's a source of pride for people all across Montana, for Republicans and Democrats," he said.

For about an hour, Schweitzer talked about Montana's recent success stories, which include how, by this October, consumers in his state will see "country of origin" labels on their food for a more informed choice on what to buy.

And in his commentary on what he described as a do-nothing, Republican-controlled Washington, Schweitzer said President Bush needs to do more than admit in a State of the Union address that the United States is addicted to foreign oil; he needs to propose a 10-year agenda toward breaking that dependence.

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Contributing: Josh Loftin

E-mail: sspeckman@desnews.com