All the sweet summer talk of bipartisanship aside, congressional Republicans are going to put the White House to a real test this fall by asking President Clinton to let them decide who's a Republican and who isn't when it comes to some select jobs.

Many boards, commissions and other bodies -- with dozens of jobs -- are required by law to have Republican and Democratic members, regardless of who sits in the White House. Congressional Republicans think someone ought to be asking them about who those Republicans should be.

According to Senate Minority Leader Robert J. Dole (R-Kan.), the Clinton White House has not been interested in hearing Republican recommendations on who should fill GOP slots. "He wants Clinton Republicans," Dole said recently, his face screwed into a grimace that suggested what he thinks of Clinton Republicans.

Dole said he has complained to the White House that it can't whisper sweet nothings about cooperation in one ear and be silent when he talks appointments. "I would think they would want to work together a little on this," the senator said earlier this month.

Considering how many Republicans are looking for jobs, including some former Dole workers, the GOP leader might have a long list.

An administration official said the Clinton team, of course, wants to be helpful to the distinguished minority leader -- within limits. "The president reserves his right to make appointments and nominations," the official said, noting, "A number of Republicans have made recommendations, not just Senator Dole, and we will consider them, of course."

Battle Brewing on Halperin Nomination

The Senate is coming back to what is shaping up as an exceptionally nasty confirmation battle over the nomination of Morton H. Halperin to be assistant secretary of defense for democracy and human rights.

Frank Gaffney, who heads the conservative Center for Security Policy, weighed in last week with a press release on the "pathetic character of the coming sales job" by Halperin's backers, who had accused Gaffney's organization of resorting to "innuendo and falsehood."

Gaffney says he is accurately recounting the liberal defense scholar's views, and asserts that the nomination is "in deep trouble."

The White House continues to express confidence that Halperin will be confirmed.

Meanwhile, word is that New York Times foreign affairs editorial writer Leon Sigal has been tapped to be the deputy in Halperin's shop.

Sin Taxes: A Defining Moment

The Not-Missing-A-Beat Award last week went to White House press secretary Dee Dee Myers.

Discussing "sin" tax options to pay for the administration's health care reforms, CNN White House correspondent Wolf Blitzer asked:

"Dee Dee, what's the difference between beer and wine, on the one hand, and liquor, on the other?"

"Did you go to high school, Wolf?" Myers asked Blitzer.

Christmas in September

The administration may be barely afloat in the polls, but White House officials are leaving no stone unturned when it comes to having a good time. Some officials are said to be even now beginning early planning for White House Christmas parties.

New Choices and a Departure

Clinton last week announced his intention to nominate Bobby Charles Simpson, Arkansas director of the Division of Rehabilitation Services, to be commissioner of the Rehabilitation Services Administration in the Department of Education.

The administration continues steadily filling mid-level posts. Some of those recently named include: Clark A. Murdock, a House Armed Services Committee aide, to be deputy assistant secretary of defense for plans and policy, and RAND Corp. official David Ochmanek to be deputy assistant secretary for resources and plans. Eugene E. Garcia, dean of the division of social sciences at the Univerisity of California at Santa Cruz, has been named director of the Office of Bilingual Education and Minority Congressional Affairs at the Department of Education, and Thomas Hehir, formerly senior researcher with the Education Development Center Inc., has been chosen as director for special education programs at Education.

Moving on: Richard H. Kohrs, a 30-year National Aeronautics and Space Administration veteran who struggled through multiple designs for the space station Freedom during the program's most turbulent years, is retiring as yet another redesign is underway. Kohrs, 59, had directed the space station program since 1989.