SHAKE-UP AT THE WHITE HOUSE : Gergen’s Star a Bit Dimmer as He Shoots Over to State : Adviser: Clinton moves his aide over to Christopher’s staff. Those saying goodby and those saying hello to him are both expressing joy.

When he came to the White House 13 months ago, he was “the Amazing Gergen,” a bipartisan spin master who could remake any President’s image as good as new.

But over a year of bruising battles, David Gergen’s magic--and the White House staff’s welcome--slowly wore thin.

So when President Clinton announced Monday that he was moving Gergen to the State Department, he wasn’t just offering him a job, he was granting him political asylum.

Gergen said he had long planned to leave the White House before this fall’s congressional campaign anyway. “I did not want to be involved in any Democratic campaign against Republicans,” the former Ronald Reagan aide said.

Gergen’s detractors in the White House, after months of grumbling about the moderate Republican in their New Democrat midst, were jubilant.

“One of the problems this White House has is too damn many free riders,” growled one Clinton aide. “At least now they’ve gotten rid of one of them.”

Still, both Gergen and Secretary of State Warren Christopher pronounced themselves delighted with the deal, which makes the White House aide a “special adviser” to both the President and the secretary of state.

That newly invented title could make Gergen an unexpectedly powerful voice in foreign policy, aides said, for it comes with a seat on the White House National Security Council’s “principals committee,” where key decisions are made.

It will put Gergen in a position to beef up the Administration’s foreign policy apparatus where Clinton and Christopher believe it to be weakest: public relations.

And it means that no further changes in top foreign policy jobs are in view, another senior official said. “This locks it in until the end of the year,” the official said, when Clinton is expected to consider whether he should stick with Christopher and Anthony Lake, his national security adviser.

Clinton has frequently come under fire for apparent confusion in foreign policy. The President told The Times last month that he considered his policies sound but that he recognized a need to do “a better job of communicating.”

Gergen, in an interview, said his new job would focus on “substance too.”

“I think the President’s foreign policy team is a lot better than it’s given credit for,” he said. “I don’t pretend to be a world-class expert on foreign policy. . . . I hope I can help pull the strands together.”

Christopher, in a written statement, said he was “enthusiastic” about the change and hoped Gergen could help the Administration “better communicate its foreign policy goals to the American people.”

Gergen said he had long planned to leave the White House by Oct. 15 and had talked to both Christopher and White House Chief of Staff Thomas (Mack) McLarty about the possibility of a foreign policy job.

“But it came to a head faster than I thought it would,” he said.

Another official said the deal was cut on Saturday, when Vice President Al Gore telephoned Christopher to ask if he could make a place for Gergen.

“They were going to let Gergen walk out,” the official said. “There wouldn’t have been a place for him.”

That would have been an abrupt fall for the White House counselor, who was widely credited for rescuing Clinton’s image in the middle of a foundering first year. But Christopher, who has grown to admire Gergen, quickly decided that he could use the extra help.

Gergen will work closely with Christopher’s top political aide, Thomas E. Donilon, and with State Department spokesman Michael McCurry--without colliding with either one, all three promised.

Gergen said he still planned to leave the government entirely by the end of the year, largely at his wife’s urging.

But Christopher intends to ask him to stay longer, a senior State Department official said.

Gergen said he would not respond to that suggestion--not on the record, anyway, although it appeared Christopher would have little to lose by asking.

By Comparison, a Quick Exit

Though past presidents have shifted chiefs of staff, President Clinton has ordered his shake-up much earlier in his tenure than any of his recent predecessors.

JIMMY CARTER

1. July 20, 1979. Hamilton Jordan named first White House chief of staff in effort to tighten control over Cabinet as four Cabinet officers are fired.

2. June 11, 1980. Jack H. Watson Jr. takes over from Jordan so Jordan can manage Carter’s reelection campaign.

RONALD REAGAN

1. Jan. 8, 1985. Treasury Secretary Donald T. Regan swaps jobs with White House Chief of Staff James A. Baker III.

2. Feb. 27, 1987. Howard H. Baker replaces Regan in the wake of the Iran-Contra scandal.

GEORGE BUSH

1. Dec. 5, 1991. John H. Sununu, whose brusque manner had antagonized many Republicans, steps down in favor of Transportation Secretary Samuel K. Skinner.

2. Aug. 13, 1992. With President Bush’s reelection in grave doubt, Skinner gives way to James A. Baker III.

Source: Times Washington Bureau