Washington in 60 Seconds: Pelosi Key for GOP in 2010; Christopher Columbus 'Bossy'?

Good morning, Capitolists! It's Columbus Day and therefore a federal holiday in your nation's capital. Even though the House and Senate are locked up tight, there's more than enough happening to fill up your next 60 seconds.

Here's what's making news in Washington today:

* The federal government is closed. (Don't bother going to the mail box.)

* Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is traveling on a diplomatic mission to Northern Ireland.

* Republicans have their boogeyman for 2010, and it's not a man at all. The Wall Street Journal writes that Republican campaigns have zeroed on making Nancy Pelosi the evil-doer du jour as their way to win back seats in the House. One example: A statement from the GOP last week hoping Gen. Stanley McChrystal would put Speaker Pelosi "in her place." Pelosi's response: "I'm in my place. I'm speaker of the House." Game on.

* Harry Reid canceled the Columbus Day break so that the Senate could debate health care reform, but delays on the bill mean its not ready for Senate action this week. Maybe senators can discuss this: The insurance industry, once the Democrats' partner in crime, is about to go nuclear on reform. The Washington Post's CeCi Connolly has the story.

* Are co-ops on life support? The Hill writes that top Democratic senators are looking for an end-run around Max Baucus' non-profit insurance plan, which gets a committee vote tomorrow, in order to slip the public option into the final bill that the Senate votes on.

* President Obama spoke to gay activists at the Human Rights Campaign this weekend, but The Advocate writes the speech up as "long on promises, short on specifics" and says the gay blogosphere "quaked with disappointment the moment the president finished."

* And Christopher Columbus may have a holiday named after him, but some American teachers today are asking if C.C. was more conquistador than explorer. The AP, via the Washington Times, reports that one Florida kindergarten teacher says his lesson plan includes Columbus' travels, but, "We talked about how he was very, very mean, very bossy." Another says, "He was a bad guy."