Washington Independent: Unlike Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), who was getting clobbered in his bid for reelection this year, Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) had a great shot of retaining the upper-chamber seat that he`s held for the past 17 years. (Indeed, his most competitive challenger, North Dakota Gov. John Hoeven (R), hadn`t even committed to entering the race before yesterday, when Dorgan announced his intent to retire at the end of this year.) So, for a moment, let`s take Dorgan at his word when he says that …