The election is over. The governor is in China. There's not much going on today. But there are a few things to mention. St. Paul mayor-elect Chris Coleman is expected to name his transition staff today. And DFL U.S. Senate hopeful Amy Klobuchar is giving a speech about energy policy.

As for Pawlenty in China, there's just not much to report. The governor toured the Great Wall and Tiananmen Square before he stopped at a Dairy Queen in Beijing. Wow. And just to hammer home the point there's not much going on the Pioneer Press reports that Pawlenty's opponent next fall is likely to be...Mike Hatch.

Although the next election for Minnesota governor is a year away, the prospect of a colossal clash between Gov. Tim Pawlenty and Attorney General Mike Hatch already has the political class chattering.

They are two of the best-known political figures in the state. The first-term governor is considered a rising star on the national Republican stage. Hatch, a major player in state politics for a quarter-century, is the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party's highest state-office holder, and he holds the record for getting the most votes for a partisan statewide office — nearly 1.2 million in 2002.

Of course there are other candidates running, including Kelly Doran, who over the weekend picked up the endorsements of some northern Minnesota DFL politicians, including Sens. Tom Bakk, Tom Saxhaug and Yvonne Solon Prettner.

We have to turn to Washington to find some real news. The House can't pass its budget bill because of a revolt by moderate Republicans. MPR's Tom Crann talked to Rep. Jim Ramstad, the Republican from Minnesota's 3rd District, on All Things Considered Friday. He doesn't like the proposed Medicaid cuts in the bill.

"There's nothing that could get me to change my vote against these cuts that disproportionately impact really the poorest of the poor," said Ramstad. He added, "I also object to the budget bill because of the student loan provisions. Those would cost University of Minnesota students $6.3 million next year alone. It seems to me instead of cutting student loans by $14 billion we should cut the pork in the recent highway bill starting with the two Alaskan bridges to nowhere, which as we all know have become a national embarrassment and outrage and rightfully so."

And that's just part of what he had to say. It'll be interesting to see how Rep. Mark Kennedy positions himself through this debate. Kennedy of course is running for Senate next year. For most of his career in the House he's voted with President Bush. He broke with the White House last week by opposing drilling in ANWR, but he declined a request by All Things Considered to discuss what he thinks about the rest of the budget bill.

Finally the Star Tribune takes a look at LRT riders and tries to answer a question that has always perplexed me. Why are people who aren't willing to ride the bus eager to get on a train?

The Hiawatha ridership is 65 percent higher than predicted. In October, an estimated 742,000 riders used the line.

Rail's smooth ride and consistent schedule make it appealing to riders who would not consider the bus. The permanence of the track and the frequency of service make it easy to use without knowing a schedule.

Within one year, light rail has emerged as the single busiest transit line in the metro area.

It's the permanence of the track, you see. You never know when those streets are just going to up and move.