TALKING POINTS
Vice President Al Gore's father passed away over the weekend, which means we know the topic of Gore's speech at the 2000 Democratic convention. In each of his last two appearances, Gore has used a family tragedy as a touchstone for his remarks. In 1996, Gore blamed his sister's death on the cigarette industry (but conveniently forgot to mention that he used to boast of being a tobacco farmer). In 1992, it was his son's car accident. So the death of his father -- who raised his son seemingly for the sole purpose of putting a Gore in the White House -- will probably play a central role in his 2000 acceptance speech. Get your hankies ready.

AND THEN COME THE LOCUSTS
Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D., Calif.) on the consequences of the House voting to impeach President Clinton: "This would put our economy in the tank, it could destabilize the entire world." (Thanks, Hotline.)

DEPRECIATION
The U.S. Mint has narrowed its design for the new $1 coin featuring Sacajawea to six finalists. Web users who visit www.usmint.gov can see them and submit comments. A good one might go something like this: "You should have picked the Statue of Liberty."

RISING STARS
More than half the incoming GOP Congressmen attended the Heritage Foundation's retreat for new members in Baltimore over the weekend. According to a source who was there, they showed a marked interest in defense and foreign policy--a change compared to similar gatherings in 1994 and 1996. Future Republican stars are the 28-year-old Paul Ryan of Wisconsin and Tom Tancredo of Colorado. Movement conservatives probably will look to them for leadership in the years ahead.

MAYBE HE SHOULD TALK TO BILL
Headline of the day: "Gore Plans International Talks for February On Strategies to Fight Government Corruption" (Wall Street Journal, Dec. 7, p.A32).