A Schoolyard Brawl Engages Washington : Politics: In the Clinton-Brown exchange of taunts, the only question is ‘Who won?’

“Who won?” was the question in Washington Monday. Was it Jerry Brown with his jibe about Bill Clinton’s wife’s business dealings? Or was it Bill Clinton with his crack about Jerry Brown’s $1,500 suit?

“Bill Clinton was smart,” said a stern-eyed Democratic male on the morning Metro run, “particularly the way he stuck up for her. That was a great line: ‘You ought to be ashamed of yourself for jumping on my wife.’ Terrific. If Mike Dukakis had done that when Bernie Shaw asked him what he’d do if his wife were raped, George Bush would be an unknown and there wouldn’t be a Bill Clinton campaign. God knows where we’d all be then.”

“And we’ve learned a thing or two since Ed Muskie’s day,” said his older friend. “Stick up for your wife but don’t cry about it. What did Clinton say? Something like ‘Jerry, you’re not worth being on the same platform as my wife’? That was fantastic. He could go all the way to the White House.”

“But what about the jab at the suit?”

“Mmmm. I’m not sure about the suit. Fifteen-hundred bucks is not so much. People like their politicians to be nicely dressed. Clinton looked as though he could do with a few new suits himself. And let out the waist. He looked like a seal in tights last night.”

“What about the finger-pointing? That was a bit much, wasn’t it? I thought Clinton was going to hit him.”

“No, it was alright. It showed spunk. It showed Bill has old-fashioned values. You know what I mean--you insult my wife and we’ll settle it outside. Remember, he’s going for the blue-collar vote now.”

This was a conversation that I wanted to bust into. It can be dangerous talking to strangers on the Metro, but this wasn’t a private conversation. It was like a continuation of “Good Morning America.”

I smiled and started to speak. “In Britain we’re thinking of introducing this sort of TV debate, but Prime Minister Major is not very keen. . . . “ Not for long. My fellow travelers stuck to the Democrats and the electability issue: Wasn’t it amazing how Bill Clinton could even turn corruption allegations into a campaign plus? The White House had to be petrified, they agreed.

Maybe. I doubt it. George Bush is no Ronald Reagan when it comes to presenting a presidential face to the nation. But he does at least look as though he is out of school. Bill Clinton and Jerry Brown looked like 8-year-olds in a playground brawl on Sunday night. And all Washington could ask was “who won?”