‘AS THE WHITE HOUSE SQUIRMS,’ FEATURING . . .

At last, an intermission in daytime’s newest and best soap opera, “As the White House Squirms.”

With the first six weeks of the Iran- contra hearings now history, and these recessed televised proceedings not due to resume until June 22, it’s a good time to review the first act.

The verdict: Scintillating, brilliantly performed melodrama yielding new facts and new faces.

There may be no epic figures like Sam Ervin, John Dean, John Ehrlichman or Bob Haldeman in the Iran-contra hearings cast, but just as the Watergate hearings turned members of Congress and witnesses into temporary TV stars, regular TV exposure has made celebrities of some of the Iran-contra figures, from brusk former Air Force Maj. Gen. Richard V. Secord to even brusker chief Senate committee counsel Arthur Liman.

Next stop, People magazine.

At the very least, regular viewers of the hearings--on PBS and CNN--have been able to get acquainted with some of the central players and their styles of interrogation or testimony.

On the investigatory side, the first six weeks produced hardballers and puffballers, aggressors and damage controllers, usually--but not necessarily-- according to party designation. Sen. Warren B. Rudman (R-N.H.) was tough in a genial sort of way, for example, while the mere anticipation of more unquestioning questions from the arid apologist Rep. William S. Broomfield (R-Mich.) was enough to leaden your lids.

After a while, you learned what to expect. If a questioner began by thanking a witness for being forthright, upstanding, patriotic and a true American, you were usually in for some slow minutes. If a questioner began by expressing puzzlement or dismay over the previous testimony of a witness, you could expect some electricity. If Liman was on the screen, you sat on the edge of your seat.

Here are some other categorizations:

The Centerfold--No, not Secord. The centerfold was, of course, Fawn Hall, Lt. Col. Oliver North’s former secretary. She didn’t act like a centerfold, but that was her heavy baggage, her stereotype--a leggy blonde who removed classified documents from North’s office by hiding them under her clothes. Woo-woo!

NBC News was so enamored of Hall that it covered much of her first day’s testimony live, an honor it failed to accord previous witnesses with potentially more substantive testimony. The media exercise was classic: You help whip up interest in Hall, then use the interest you helped create to justify covering portions of her testimony live. And the nation did pay attention, evidenced by the ratings that Hall’s appearance gave CNN, its highest since the hearings began.

Had Hall’s name been Myrtle and her body as round and face as plain as a potato, her “news value” would have plummeted accordingly. And perhaps the committee would not have been so smitten with her. As it turned out, her testimony was a highlight of the hearings, and not only because she was gorgeous and could offer valuable insights on North’s last hours as a National Security Council official. More than that, Hall briefly centered the hearings on her own intensely human and personal drama, that of a loyal secretary who seemed to have limited knowledge about the cause she was supporting, but trusted in her boss, right or wrong.

Poor Soul--Some of the congressional panelists were angry at White House lawyer Bretton G. Sciaroni, counsel for the Intelligence Oversight Board. However, there was probably another reason for his continuous frown--the man was obviously anguished--as he testified before the Senate and House committees.

Put yourself in Sciaroni’s place. You’re forced to admit on national TV, under a grilling from Sen. Paul S. Sarbanes (D-Md.), that not only have you had minimal legal experience, but also that you flunked the California and Washington, D.C., Bars twice each before qualifying for your present job by finally passing the Pennsylvania Bar.

Good Humor Man--The honor goes to Sarbanes, sort of, for setting a record for televised congressional hearings by going six weeks without smiling. His dour, almost funeral tone never varied. You had the feeling that after each day of testimony, he would return to his Senate office, lock the door behind him and spend several hours laughing hysterically, just to get it out of his system.

The Inquisitor--The title fits the prosecutorial style of Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah). With friends like Hatch, who needs enemies? At least that’s what some witnesses must have wondered after Hatch was through with them.

Hatch came on like a merciless “Mr. District Attorney” even when trying to make points for a witness whose actions he supported (which included just about all of them), squeezing off rapid-fire questions that demanded equally rapid one-word replies. Sort of like this:

“The United States has an interest in the Persian Gulf, right?” Right. “And it’s in our best interest that neither Iraq nor Iran win that war, right?” Right. “You agree with that, don’t you?” Yes. “Nothing wrong with that logic, is there?” No. “And we should try to stabilize the area, right?” Right. “And someone who tried to do that would be a patriot, right?” Right. “That’s a pretty good deduction, don’t you think?” Yes. “Nothing wrong with that logic, is there?” No. “You agree with that?” Yes. “You and Col. North sought to do that, didn’t you?” Yes. “Then you’re both patriots, isn’t that true?” Yes. “All right.”

And on and on it would go, until the witness was forced to disclose that he was honorable.

Mr. Humility--That would be Assistant Secretary of State Elliott Abrams, who managed the seemingly impossible task of remaining arrogant while apologizing to the panel and pleading ignorance.

Heavy Hitter--His hair matted across the top of his head in a futile attempt to hide his baldness, Senate counsel Liman was the unglamorous unofficial star of the first six weeks, a lawyerly, relentless Javert, refusing to be sidetracked by sarcastic retorts from such witnesses as Secord, raising the intensity level by boring in. His mere participation in the questioning was a tip-off to important testimony and sometimes bristling exchanges.

You can count on Liman having a significant role in the questioning of North and former National Security Adviser John M. Poindexter when the hearings resume and TV best soap opera continues.