OUR SPEAKER CAN PIN YOUR GOVERNOR
Robert George of the Republican National Committee asks: Can former high school wrestling coach and incoming House Speaker Denny Hastert take down Minnesota Gov.-elect Jesse Ventura in a match?

ME LLAMO DENNY
Opponents of bilingual education lost a powerful ally when Bob Livingston stepped down as the GOP's Speaker-in-Waiting. A forceful supporter of English in the classroom, Livingston might have made a significant difference in an area that has frustrated conservatives for years. Denny Hastert won't provide the same kind of leadership on that issue simply because he hasn't made it one of his pet causes. His most recent vote was a good one, however. Earlier this year he came out against federal bilingual education mandates (he supported them in 1994). He also voted against Puerto Rican statehood, something that Newt Gingrich and other Republican leaders have endorsed with an odd amount of enthusiasm.

HASTERT SAMPLER
One Republican issue that will receive a boost from Speaker Hastert is census sampling. Hastert has been strongly critical of the Clinton administration plan to use statistical sampling in the 2000 Census, which would essentially turn the "actual enumeration" required by the Constitution into a public opinion poll. Hastert serves on the House Census Subcommittee and appears to appreciate the consequences of losing this fight - which the GOP currently looks like it's doing.

PRESIDENT HILLARY
It turns out that those bumper stickers "Impeach the President - and Her Husband, Too" had a point. Rep. Dennis Kucinich recently explained to the New York Times who's really running the country: "[Hillary] is so terrific," he said. "It's lucky for America we have a woman with the strength to lead the nation right now. And everybody understands she is one of the leaders of the nation right now, as much as the President."