Capital Observations : The Clinton Administration Ushers In a New Era as D.C. Loosens Up and Parties Down

Forget national policy. Suspend, for a moment, all pessimism about the economy. Try, briefly, to let go of that cynical perception that Presidents are just politicians--and politicians are actually aliens from a distant planet.

Because in Washington, something very strange transpired the week that Bill and Hillary and Al and Tipper moved in.

In this very rigid city, folks actually loosened up. People had fun. They smiled.

And did they party.

By week’s end, none of the crises facing the new Administration were even close to resolution.

But there was a widespread feeling around Washington that if these guys can run the government the way they party, the next four years might not be so bad.

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Overheard at the MTV Ball: “I’m from Great Britain. Coronations are boring by comparison.”

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Overheard at the Western States Inaugural Ball: “Let’s get serious. Where’s the bar?”

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You want to tap the real pulse of Washington?

“Ask the cab drivers,” said Dan Greenberg of Los Angeles, the executive director of the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund.

“The cab drivers all love Clinton,” said Greenberg, greeting guests on Wednesday at a small reception before the huge Environmental Ball.

“They say that under Bush, everyone drove limos, and there was no place for the common cab.”

On the other hand, a lot of cab drivers were grumbling that Democrats don’t tip.

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Washington? Star-struck? Well, put it this way: Celebrities this week were bombarded by cameras and reporters everywhere. Evidently, Washingtonians, unlike jaded Angelenos, are not used to seeing celebs at the shoe repair. Many Washingtonians, in fact, are downright unsavvy when it comes to dealing with the Hollywood contingent.

Witness this exchange, at a fund-raiser for PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). Featured were such stars as Kathleen Turner, Lindsay Wagner, Kim Basinger, Alec Baldwin, Elvira, Sara Gilbert, k.d. lang, Chrissie Hynde and Christie Brinkley.

“So who’s here?” a man asked a reporter.

“Well, there’s Kathleen Turner.”

“Oh, that’s her? Now what has she been in?”

“Ah, ‘Body Heat, ‘The War of the Roses,’ ‘Romancing the Stone.’ ”

“Oh,” the man said, not a glimmer of recognition on his face. “Who else is here?”

“There’s Kim Basinger?”

“That’s Kim Basinger? Oh, from ‘Batman!’ I wish I had brought my son, he would have loved seeing her!”

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“Of course it’s a tea party,” a 1989 alumna grumbled, opting instead for a goblet of white wine. “We’re a women’s college.”

This is what happened when Wellesley, Hillary Clinton’s alma mater, decided to do a little something for the most famous graduate of the Class of 1969. The tea party turned into a cocktail party (tea was actually seen on a table in one dark corner) and the “little” party grew to almost 2,000 guests.

Unfortunately, the guest of honor was running on what is now widely accepted as Clinton Standard Time. Hillary Clinton’s fellow Wellesley grads had been waiting nearly two hours when she finally huffed into the ballroom of the Mayflower Hotel, insisting that traffic gridlock had forced her “to get out of the car and run the last 3 1/2 blocks.”

Her tardiness was swiftly forgiven. She slipped out of a sweeping coat-of-many-colors, revealing a sheath in the deep purple hue favored by the British Royal Family. She praised her alma mater as “a place where women were valued and nurtured and encouraged, and where we didn’t seem odd at all to do whatever we wanted.” Then, loud and clear, she joined in singing the refrain of Wellesley’s own version of “America the Beautiful”:

” . . . And crown thy good with SISTERhood . . . “

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An item on the Inaugural Committee’s daily advisory drew double takes.

“FLOWERS,” it read, prompting speculation as to whether Gennifer Flowers was planning a press conference.

But no, it turned out that the announcement was of the botanical persuasion, describing the blooms that would be on display at key inaugural moments, and praising local florists for their round-the-clock efforts.

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Also evoking a chorus of tut-tut-tuts was the message, in an information package, left for guests on the Executive Club floor of the Hotel Washington, just one block from the White House.

“Strange bedfellows,” it promised--a perhaps less-than-tasteful introduction to the new Administration.

Strange indeed. The new “bedfellows” are actually souvenir pillowcases emblazoned with the likenesses of Clinton and Gore.

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Under the heading of mutual admiration, there was this exchange at Tuesday’s “Salute to Youth” at the Kennedy Center.

A young Navy escort shook Bill Clinton’s hand and told him, “I’m so glad I work for you, sir.”

Replied Clinton, whose avoidance of the Vietnam draft has heightened sensitivities about his role as commander-in-chief: “And I’m so glad you’re glad you work for me.”

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Teen-agers in the capital this week expressed concern not about the future of the world but about the future of Chelsea, the much-photographed, much-hounded first daughter trying to grow up under one of the hottest spotlights in America.

Asked if they would like to be the Clintons’ daughter a group of 12- and 13-year-old girls from Hodgenville, Ky., shouted “NO!” One noted that she has to leave all her friends behind in Little Rock. Any potential boyfriend would probably be scared off in a hurry by the prospect of picking you up for a date at the White House, another observed.

Besides, “when you are young, you want more freedom,” said Beth Hornback, 12. “She can’t go to the mall anymore and shop with her friends. She’s got to be pretty tough and brave.”

Also contributing to this report were Times staffers Patt Morrison, Alan C. Miller and Constance Sommer.