NEW BEST FRIEND?
Many conservatives were disappointed with Trent Lott's first few years as majority leader. His support for Kelly Flynn and the 1997 budget deal set an acrimonious tone to their relations. The low point was when Lott supported the Chemical Weapons Convention over strong conservative opposition. Afterward, Paul Weyrich accused Lott of treason and Lott revoked Weyrich's Capitol Hill parking privileges.

Flash forward two years. Now Lott has emerged as one of the strongest opponents of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. He'd like to bring it up to a vote, just as liberals were demanding until, oh, the day before yesterday, because he thinks he has the votes to kill it. Lott has also been instrumental in blocking the confirmation of two Clinton judicial nominees, Marsha Berzon and Richard Paez. Conservatives had been nervous that Orrin Hatch would cut a deal to get them on the bench; Lott evidently feels no such temptation.

Finally, Lott is taking the offensive against China's apparent efforts to gain control of the Panama Canal. Having received no reply to a letter sent to defense secretary William Cohen on August 1, Lott is now urging Sen. John Warner to look into the matter during hearings this fall.

If Lott keeps it up, conservatives are going to have to revise their view of his leadership.

LIVE BY THE POLLS. . .
In a Zogby poll released today, President Clinton's positive job-performance rating is 48.4 percent, his negative rating 48.7 percent. That's down from January, when Zogby had Clinton's positives at 60.5 percent and negatives at 38.3 percent. Maybe what he needs right now is another impeachment.

DEATH AND TAXES
From a Heritage Foundation letter promoting an article in the new issue of Policy Review: "The real reason behind Serbia's aggression in Kosovo? Taxes."

Explains author Stephen Schwartz in the article: "The prospective loss of tax revenue, with the prospect of greater Slovenian, Croatian, and Bosnian autonomy, was as much a stimulus to Milosevic and his men as any ethnic or religious issue."

HAPPY COOLIDGE WEEK
Watch C-SPAN all this week for special programs on Calvin Coolidge, one of America's greatest presidents.