WASHINGTON -- After a year that was unusual, peculiar and unbelievable enough to qualify as one long April Fool's Day, the U.S. government is finally back doing governmental work. It isn't boring, but it is less colorful than the year of Monica et al. We have lost some of our more entertaining characters -- particularly in the House of Representatives. Speaker Dennis Hastert seems to be getting his legislative agenda moving smoothly, even with his very modest majority. But he is not Newt Gingrich. He is not spewing out provocative rhetoric, picking fights and the like. We all thought that would be refreshing, but there are times when Newt's energy and style kept the city on its toes.

The legislative agenda for both the majority Republicans and the minority Democrats is mainly about money. With the economy booming and the big elections just 15 months away, leaders on both sides of the aisle are honing their rhetoric and developing their politics within the confines of the spending programs of the budget.

Republicans are looking for creative ways to return some of the surplus to the voters without looking irresponsible about the problems of social security and Medicare funding. Democrats are using the long-term problems facing these programs to argue against big tax cuts and to sweeten the social safety net provided by icons of their party's past.