Small Change?(ISSUES & INSIGHTS)(EDITORIALS)(Editorial)

Republicans: It could have been worse. It could have been better. In choosing John Boehner as the new majority leader, the House GOP gives a nod -- but maybe not much more -- to reform.

It's hard to avoid the impression that, in Thursday's vote to fill Tom DeLay's old post, the party couldn't quite make up its mind and decided to leave tough decisions for later. If they haven't embraced the status quo, they haven't quite voted to change their ways, either.

On the issues that most vex the party right now, Boehner's record is a mixed bag. The Ohio congressman takes a principled stand against pork-barrel spending. He also has political baggage from his dealings with lobbyists and with industries that have business in front of his education and the work force committee.

A few days before his victory, The Washington Post reported that Boehner's campaign for majority leader was largely bankrolled by private student-loan firms and for-profit colleges and trade schools. Unlike DeLay, he seems free of any ties to the influence-buying lobbyist Jack Abramoff. But he's too at home on K Street to play a convincing reformer in Washington's political theater.

Also mixed is the signal sent by the party when it chose him in something less than a blowout. The vote, on a second ballot, was 122-109, with the status-quo candidate Roy Blunt of Missouri coming in second.

Arizona's John Shadegg, who looked like the real change agent among the three declared contenders, dropped out after finishing third on the first ballot. It's not clear who voted for whom in this private process. But it's probably safe to say Shadegg's ...