Wednesday evening Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer made his last “State of the State” address. He is in his second term and is term-limited from running for another term as governor.

I reviewed his speech this morning and read some of the media reports. I checked Twitter throughout the evening and this comment from one of the Governor’s fans caught my attention: “Brian Schweitzer is the best Governor in America. Hands down. No Contest.”

Governor Schweitzer does have his fans…and he has his enemies.

Back in 2008 I wrote the following commentary about Brian Schweitzer:

Schweitzer kind of reminds me of George C. Scott, who played Mordecai Jones in the 1967 movie, “The Flim-Flam Man.” The synopsis tells us that Mordecai was the master of back-stabbing, cork-screwing and dirty-dealing-dealing. I’m sure there are some folks in Helena who feel the same way about Schweitzer, especially those on the right.

Schweitzer was made to be a politician. We have the bolo tie, the dog at his side, and he has so much self-confidence that he usually takes over the room when he enters. I’ve had a smile on my face every time I have met the Governor, not because I was happy to meet him, but because it was funny to watch him work the room while selling his snake oil.

I remember seeing him hop off a flatbed trailer in Great Falls, Montana, back in 1998-99 after announcing he was running for U.S. Senate. At that time, I told some friends and colleagues that “this man is a joke” and that his greatest claim to fame was that his cousin was a Freeman and that he was busing seniors to Canada to get cheaper prescription drugs.

Sure, he was beaten by Conrad Burns in 2000 for U.S. Senate. But Schweitzer never quit campaigning and he polished his skills over the next few years, and then he cruised to a couple of easy victories for Governor of Montana. He used a moderate Republican (State Senator and Veteran) as his running mate and that made those on the right go freaking crazy.

Those on the right just never figured out how to deal with Brian David Schweitzer. Some on the left haven’t either.

Schweitzer has a little less than two years left. He’s finished as Governor at the end of 2012. What will he do next? Some folks believe his life in politics is far from over. Some believe (and some would welcome) a run for U.S. Senate either taking on Max Baucus (2014) or running for the open seat when Baucus “decides” to retire.

The question is could Schweitzer stand being just one of 100 Senators after being “the man” in Helena for the last eight years? As a new senator, he would be ranked near the bottom of seniority. I can’t imagine he would be able to handle it.

Running for the U.S. House would be even worse.  If he was elected he would be just one of the 435 members and that’s the place where some of them even sleep in their Washington offices.

Then, there’s talk of a cabinet post with the Obama Administration – but that would have to be in the second Obama term and that’s far from secure. Plus there’s not many spotlights shining on members of the President’s cabinet.

Some people even believe he should run for President or Vice President. I don’t see that happening. The national media attention would be just a little too much for Montana’s Brian because they actually circle their prey before they attack. The national media folks also don’t sit back with adoring eyes like the Montana media does while petting the Governor’s dog.

So what does a man who seems to crave the public spotlight and loves the back and forth of politics do when he is out of job? That chapter is yet to be written, but it will be fun to watch.

Let’s just hope that the Governor’s dog “Jag” writes about it in a sequel to his first book.