THE RIGHT ANSWER: Two Justice Department nominees...

THE RIGHT ANSWER: Two Justice Department nominees went before the Senate Judiciary Committee recently and were asked the same question: How would you describe the Supreme Court’s rulings in the Croson case in 1989 and Adarand in 1995? Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah) was referring to two decisions that say government affirmative action is usually, but not always, unconstitutional. “The Supreme Court in Adarand and Croson has made it absolutely clear the affirmative action programs are invalid under the Constitution,” except in rare instances, said Acting Solicitor General Seth Waxman. He won quick confirmation. “My understanding of the Croson and Adarand cases,” replied civil rights nominee Bill Lann Lee, “is that they epitomize the Supreme Court’s view that, in general, affirmative action programs can be appropriate.” Wrong answer. Lee’s confirmation has been blocked by Hatch and the committee’s Republican majority.

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CONNECTION INDEX: To the divisions of class, race and education already partitioning American society, it may be time to add a new distinction: that between the connected and the unconnected. A survey by GOP pollster Frank Luntz for Wired magazine and the Merrill Lynch Forum shows a striking contrast in outlook between Americans who work regularly with cell phones, beepers, e-mail and laptops, and those who remain relatively unwired. Luntz says the 10% of Americans who are heavily connected “are much more optimistic, happier, more likely to embrace change, and much more positive to democracy and the free market system” than the nearly 30% who are unconnected. The 60% of Americans who are “semi-connected”--those who use these technologies part of the time--fall in between, the survey found. “We talk about a society of have and have-nots economically,” says Luntz, “but we are now approaching a society of have and have-nots technologically.”

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BACK TO THE CUBICLE: Throughout the Clinton administration, Vice President Al Gore has been charged with the less-than-glamorous task of heading up the so-called reinventing government project to reform the federal bureaucracy. One year, he appeared on the David Letterman show with a hammer and protective eyewear. This year, trying to win some attention for efforts to help improve the public’s attitude about government by making government more responsive to people, Gore’s group hired Scott Adams, creator of the Dilbert cartoon strip, to illustrate the project’s annual report. The booklet focuses on reform secrets the government has borrowed from private business--such as allowing Veterans Affairs employees to telecommute and avoiding costly procurement procedures by buying from off the shelf at Radio Shack the modem used by the Mars rover--and is full of comic strips. As if that weren’t enough, Gore had someone wearing a Dilbert mask interrupt his briefing session with reporters. A slightly sheepish Gore quipped: “We spared no efforts to try to pitch this book to you.”

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THOSE PESKY HOLIDAYS: The office of Sen. Robert Torricelli (D-N.J.) was closed Tuesday “due to the observance of the Columbus Day holiday,” according to a voice mail message. The rest of the federal government was closed as well--because of Veteran’s Day. Columbus was last month. Whoops.