1.   Another Republican insider, a veteran fund raiser, predicts GOP governors will pick someone to challenge Forbes at the convention.

2.   Assessments by key Republican insiders were unusually reserved, even before quickie network polls found Gore the clear winner.

3.   At a Washington charity dinner last week, Republican insiders committed to other candidates were salivating at the thought of working for Powell.

4.   But most Republican insiders never expected him to enter the race.

5.   He has been courting journalists and Republican insiders for months, and he has an increasingly impressive team of advisers.

6.   Interviews with Republican insiders suggest that Nussle made no big break with the leadership, but instead found himself at the end of a string of missed opportunities.

7.   It could be a long four years for a Republican insider with a hothouse persona.

8.   Not all Republican insiders are worried about Buchanan.

9.   Other advisers include Kenneth Duberstein and Michael Deaver, veteran Republican insiders who had prominent posts in the Reagan White House, and former Rep. Vin Weber of Minnesota.

10.   Republican insiders argue that voters are sick of the Democratic attacks on the Speaker, and they say that GOP Congressional candidates can readily deflect the attacks.