WASHINGTON INSIGHT

STATELY SNOOZE? Diplomats driven drowsy by plodding Secretary of State Warren Christopher are expressing concern that a cautious Christopher clone appears headed for a key State Department post. Robert H. Pelletreau Jr., U.S. ambassador to Egypt and former chief envoy to Tunisia and Bahrain, is expected to be named assistant secretary for Near-Eastern affairs. He would replace Edward P. Djerejian, the new U.S. ambassador to Israel who is highly regarded for his creativity in handling the Middle East’s thorny problems. . . . Some are worried that Djerejian’s dynamism will disappear at Foggy Bottom just when it is needed most. While the popular Pelletreau is smart and thoughtful, skeptics wonder if he is too deliberate, conservative and unimaginative to provide new direction in the post-Cold War world. . . . Supporters note that Pelletreau’s caution served well when he was in charge of U.S. talks with the Palestine Liberation Organization--talks that contributed to the historic peace pact between Israel and the PLO.

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SOME CALL IT WISDOM: Tired of media punditry? Sorry. The orgy is getting worse. The Hotline, a daily electronic newsletter that exponentially speeds the puffing of political molehills, is recruiting journalists to size up prominent politicians and gaze into the future--anonymously. Hotline operators want to “quantify some of the conventional and unconventional wisdom out there in the media.” . . . As if the press didn’t already have enough sway over presidential politics, the survey asks journalists to rate 22 possible Republican candidates and their chances of running in 1996. Also: Who might challenge President Clinton in the primaries? What will the final health care overhaul bill look like? And so on. . . . Since journalists are supposed to be objective, only a couple of responses are “on the record.” The press can pontificate on the rest of the questions with the cover of being invisible.

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DIPLOMATIC INTRIGUE: Senators regularly play games with ambassadorial nominations, but Harlan Mathews (D-Tenn.) has added a new twist--conspiring, some believe, with his buddy and predecessor, Vice President Al Gore. It involves Clinton’s choice for ambassador to Switzerland, Larry Lawrence, owner of the San Diego area’s lush Hotel del Coronado and a top Democratic fund-raiser. . . . The Foreign Service Assn., a group of career diplomats fed up with Presidents giving ambassadorial plums to fat-cat contributors, accused Lawrence of exceeding limits on campaign donations (a charge he strongly denies). Lawrence barely cleared the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on a tie vote, and an anonymous Republican senator has put a “hold” on the nomination, delaying floor action until after Congress reconvenes next month. . . . A furious Mathews is taking revenge--but against the diplomats, not Republicans. He is holding up 26 foreign service promotions at the Agency for International Development.

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ANOTHER HOLDUP: Also hostage to a GOP hold is prospective U.S. ambassador to the Bahamas, Sidney Williams, a Hollywood car salesman and husband of Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles). Senate Republicans titter that Williams’ main credential is “former pro football player,” but Democrats call him savvy and well-spoken. He is the only African American political appointment Clinton has made for ambassador.