COMMENTARY ON THE INCOMING ADMINISTRATION : Onetime White House Insiders Share Benefits of Experience : The new President must not allow his Administration to become mired in vague and incompatible goals.

The early days of the Reagan Administration were incredibly impressive. Individuals from different walks of life came together one day, and within months the nation had a new and comprehensive economic policy in place.

This monumental task was accomplished because President Ronald Reagan knew exactly what he wanted and because the people he chose knew exactly what he wanted.

With only days left before taking office, President-elect Bill Clinton has no clearly defined direction, and his priorities are fiscally incompatible: a dramatic reduction in the deficit, a national health care program and a jobs program to rebuild America’s roads and bridges. Add to these commitments Clinton’s campaign pledges of a revived economy and a middle-class tax cut and you have an Administration in trouble before its members have even taken office.

The conflict deepens when you look at Clinton’s appointments. Sen. Lloyd Bentsen (D-Texas) at the Treasury Department is generally regarded as pro-business and in favor of the middle-class tax cut. Rep. Leon E. Panetta (D-Carmel Valley) and Alice Rivlin, who will be over at the Office of Management and Budget, are both concerned about the deficit but believe the answer is in greater taxes. Which promise do you break? Tax relief or deficit reduction?

Then there is Labor Secretary Robert B. Reich. No amount of spending is too much for this public servant. And while he is plugging for government solutions to every social ill, Environmental Protection Agency Director Carol Browner will be treating businesses to such burdensome regulations as to turn the Carter years into fond memories. But such policies do not stimulate an economy or create jobs--quite the reverse, in fact.

When your greatest potential for accomplishment is the first 100 days in office, it is not the season for debate. It is the season for quick, decisive action.

Maybe Clinton knows exactly what he wants to accomplish in those early days, and maybe his appointees know exactly what that is. But if his recent economic conference is any indication, we could be in for some long hours of intellectual discourse.

But considering the alternative, that may not be all bad.