ONLINE DOCUMENT: SENATE'S NEW GOP LEADERS MORE AGGRESSIVELY CONSERVATIVE

As Bob Dole exits the Senate this week, power shifts to a new generation of younger, more aggressively conservative, more ideologically-driven Republican leaders.

At 72, Dole is last top congressional leader in either party of the generation molded by the experiences of World War II and the Great Depression.On Tuesday Dole's GOP colleagues will pay elaborate tribute to him as he departs. The next day, Republicans will elect new leaders to at least three of the top four party posts in the Senate - leaders who represent a marked contrast to Dole in style, outlook, and age.

Dole's expected successor is Sen. Trent Lott of Mississippi, 55, currently the No. 2 GOP leader. Lott has strong backing from the 11 GOP Senate freshmen and other, less senior Republicans who have been critical of many of the Senate's hidebound ways.

Dole's departure and Lott's succession will close out an era in the Senate marked by an exaggerated deference to seniority, where the majority leader and a few powerful committee chairmen could set the agenda.

Under Lott, GOP senators who wish to retain their committee chairmanships and other privileges are more likely to be required to toe the party line on key votes or suffer the consequences.

Younger conservatives say they don't want to see a repeat of last year's experience with the balanced budget constitutional amendment, which failed by one vote. Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Mark Hatfield of Oregon was the only Republican to vote against the amendment, but he was not punished by Dole.

Lott is also more likely than Dole to seek opportunities to challenge Democrats who try to use Senate rules to hold up legislation in order to stymie the GOP agenda.

"I think he's going to be a little more willing to press the Democrats into a corner," said Dave Mason, a congressional expert with the conservative Heritage Foundation. "Dole had to be careful about appearing to be ineffective or harsh."

Lott is being challenged for the position of GOP leader by his Mississippi colleague, Thad Cochran, currently the No. 3 Republican leader. While equally as conservative as Lott, Cochran's support is based primarily in the Senate's dwindling old guard. They prefer his quiet gentility to Lott's hard-edged rhetoric.

Cochran, 58, also appeals to moderates, who view him as more willing to compromise with senators uncomfortable with demands by the GOP's hard right for deep cuts in both taxes and social programs.