WASHINGTON INSIGHT

AFFIRMATIVE ACTION CANDIDATE: Arthur A. Fletcher, former assistant secretary of labor and self-described “father of affirmative action,” said he has made up his mind to run for the Republican nomination for President and is forming campaign committees in all states with March primaries. Fletcher, the second African American to announce his candidacy, told The Times that colleges, churches and TV programs have deluged him with requests for appearances since he recently announced that he was considering running on a pledge to protect affirmative action. “The money’s pouring into my campaign,” he said. Realizing that his contributions likely will come from small donors, he is making this campaign plea: “Give me five and keep it alive.” Fletcher, a member of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, was a member of the Richard Nixon Administration when he oversaw development of the “Philadelphia plan,” which required companies competing for federal projects to set goals and make good-faith efforts to hire minorities. It was considered the first enforceable affirmative action program.

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SNUBBED PRESIDENT: Associates describe former President Jimmy Carter as having been “hurt and angry” at what he considered a snub by President Clinton during the April 12 ceremony at Warm Springs, Ga., honoring the memory of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Clinton and Carter both spoke at the ceremony at which Carter was presented the Roosevelt Institute’s Four Freedoms Award. Although they sat across the aisle from each other, Clinton hardly noticed the former Georgia governor’s presence except for mentioning him along with other dignitaries in his speech. “He ignored me,” Carter told an associate. Although Carter went to Haiti last year as Clinton’s emissary and paved the way for the peaceful entry of U.S. troops, relations between the two Southerners have been cool for some time.

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THE WOFFORD WATCH: With Peace Corps Director Carol Bellamy leaving to take charge of UNICEF, the name of former Sen. Harris Wofford of Pennsylvania has surfaced as a likely replacement. Some agency veterans would like to see the post go to another ex-Peace Corps volunteer, like Bellamy herself. But most are willing to waive this objection because of Wofford’s service as a top official at the Peace Corps during its golden age in the 1960s. The appointment of Wofford could give Clinton a boost in Pennsylvania, where he badly needs one. Last November’s election, in which Wofford lost his seat, left both Senate seats in GOP hands in the Keystone State--a state that Clinton carried in 1992 and needs to carry again in 1996.

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STATESMAN TO CAMPAIGNER? U.S. Trade Representative Mickey Kantor has long insisted that he would never again take a campaign post, but recently he’s come up against the one thing he may not be able to refuse: personal entreaties from Clinton himself. Kantor, who is a Southern Californian and was Clinton’s campaign chairman in 1992, is enjoying his new life as a statesman and has told associates that he has little appetite for the drudgery and uncertainty of campaign labors. But with pressure from Clinton, insiders expect to see Kantor taking on a top political role at the White House or the campaign within weeks. Meanwhile, Thomas E. Donilon, Secretary of State Warren Christopher’s chief of staff, is advancing in the competition for the unfilled slot of Clinton campaign manager.