TRANSITION WATCH

HILLARY & HYPHEN: Hillary Clinton has let it be known that she prefers to use her maiden name, Rodham, on her stationery and for other official functions. In a harbinger of things to come, perhaps, a phone directory for the Presidential Transition Office does not list her under “C” for Clinton, but under “R” for Rodham-Clinton. . . . When Bill Clinton first became governor of Arkansas, his wife was known as Hillary Rodham. She later used Clinton. Inside the transition, she is more casually known as “HRC.”

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SELLING OF THE PRESIDENT-ELECT: It will never rival the Malcolm X product line, but the presidential inaugural committee has launched its own catalogue of souvenirs to cash in on Clinton’s and Al Gore’s big moment and to help defray the costs of the hoopla accompanying the oath-taking. . . . Already, crowds of customers have been lining up at a little shop that just opened a few blocks from the White House to hawk the merchandise. Among the few low-cost items: A $1 pin saying: “Santa Gave Me a New President.”

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ASIAN-AMERICAN SHUTOUT? While Clinton deplored “bean counting” of his Cabinet appointments by gender and race, some wondered why there wasn’t more of it. In particular, some Asian-Americans lamented that only one member of their minority group has even been mentioned as a contender for a top job. That would be Rep. Patsy Mink (D-Hawaii), a Japanese-American whose name surfaced briefly last week amid talk of who would get the job of secretary of Interior. . . . “I know the Asian community has sent in many names,” said Mink, who didn’t get the job. “After all, even (President) Bush had Pat Saiki as head of the Small Business Administration.” . . . Rep. Robert T. Matsui (D-Sacramento), a Japanese-American member of Congress, said he still expects several Asian-Americans to fill sub-Cabinet positions or become agency chiefs. Matsui’s wife, Doris, is on the transition team.

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SIGN OF THE TIMES: First Lady Barbara Bush’s trademark double strands of pearls are now marked “Reduced” at the trendy Ann Taylor stores in Washington.

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SIGN OF THE TIMES, PART II: The bureaucrats needed a door prize for the annual Christmas party in one federal office in Washington. Someone suggested a book or a bottle of whiskey, but the official in charge of the party had a better idea. When the winner unwrapped her prize, it was a coupon entitling the winner to the framed official photograph of Vice President Dan Quayle. “Must be redeemed after January 20, 1993,” the coupon stated.

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MISSING PERSON: The Bush-Quayle defeat has seen a number of once high-profile Administration officials slip into sudden obscurity. But no one may have become as invisible as well-known State Department and White House official Margaret Tutwiler. For years Tutwiler took the upfront role of explaining boss James A. Baker III’s policy moves. Now, with questions emerging about her knowledge of the search of Bill Clinton’s passport records, she is a spokeswoman who won’t speak--about anything. Aides confirm she is refusing all questions and returning no press calls.