It is also a chance to test whether he may someday be Presidential timber.

There was enough Presidential timber to build a castle.

Why, there isn't enough Presidential timber in the lot to make a matching set of toothpicks.

That makes Arizona one of this year's first serious tests of presidential timber.

His growing national reputation led some conservative Democrats to consider him Presidential timber.

"To emerge as presidential timber," he said, "one has to have a certain stubbornness.

That is, the public does not confer its trust on candidates lightly; demonstrating Presidential timber takes time.

Peggy ghosts for the finest Presidential timber and takes home best-seller bucks.

Those in the know in national politics even mentioned him as possible presidential timber in 19%, when presumably he would be retired.

There was a time when any prominent New York politician was automatically considered presidential timber.

"That proves I'm of Presidential timber," he said.

He burst onto the national stage in 1971, a decorated Vietnam veteran and antiwar protester talked about overnight as presidential timber.

He was Vice Presidential timber.

Yes, revolution: Phil Donahue waving his awesome microphone at Presidential timber.

To me, it's disturbing that the biggest test for deciding who's presidential timber is which candidate is the fastest returning your phone call."

There appears to be some kind of modern genetic law that dictates that people of presidential timber can produce only very attractive children.

"Not presidential timber," added Trevayne gently.

"How come first-term governors in California and New York are considered Presidential timber and not others?"

W. is perfectly content when the press hews to this story line: hothead and goof-off metamorphoses into Presidential timber.

But several other voters, including some Republicans, registered doubts about Mr. Gingrich, particularly over whether he was Presidential timber.

All five of the major Sunday talkfests decamped for New Hampshire this weekend, eager to stock their shows with presidential timber.

Leveraging his authority on behalf of striking abattoir workers and the right to unionize, he became increasingly thought of as presidential timber.

There are some in New Jersey who view Governor Kean as Vice Presidential timber.

This may account for the decreasing importance of the Senate and increasing importance of the statehouses as sources of presidential timber.

Why is it that highly thoughtful, creative and action-oriented people like Senator Moynihan are seldom mentioned as Presidential timber?