After Rep. Aaron Schock, 28, was elected the youngest member of Congress in November, the man whose seat he was inheriting beamed that his successor could become the "poster child" for the Republican Party in Illinois and beyond.

But Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, who represented the 18th District for seven terms, was more prescient than he realized. Since taking office, Schock has been stalked by gossip Web site TMZ, declared "hottest congressional freshman" and grilled about his abs on "The Colbert Report."

So to what extent might Schock represent the Republican Party's future? You don't get to be the youngest member of Congress without ambition and hard work. After his local school board refused to let him graduate early from high school, Schock ran a write-in campaign for a position on the board, knocked on 13,000 doors and narrowly defeated the official who hadn't let him leave school.

But unlike LaHood, who was swept into office as part of the 1994 Republican takeover, Schock entered Congress as a freshman member of the minority party, and opportunities for leadership will be few. He may be precocious, but Schock's victory in a solidly Republican district had at least as much to do with the "R" next to his name as with any ideological debate he won.

Besides being a fresh face, there's not much that separates Schock from the right wing of his party. He's anti-abortion, pro-gun and a vocal critic of President Obama. Will a nice set of abs be enough for the baby-faced Schock to convince younger, more moderate voters to take a second look at the GOP? After John McCain pulled just 32 percent of the youth vote last fall, down from George W. Bush's 45 percent in 2004, Republicans can't wait to find out.

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