WASHINGTON INSIGHT

NOT VICTIMS: Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, who has been denounced by black leaders over his stand against affirmative action, turned the tables on a largely white audience of conservative lawyers. White men should not “play the victim game” in opposing affirmative action, Thomas said in a speech last week to the Federalist Society, whose members gave him a rousing ovation. Not only is it a mistake to “fall prey . . . to the modern ideology” of victimhood, he said, it is especially wrong for white men to do so. After all, the “very people they decry [especially black Americans] have a better claim to victim status,” he said. Friends say Thomas has been dismayed that his stand for strict non-discrimination has been seen as an attack on black interests.

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NICE WALLET: Gov. Pete Wilson, whose campaign debt is reported to exceed $1 million, could not help but turn a bit green when he heard that multimillionaire publisher Malcolm S. (Steven) Forbes Jr. entered the crowded GOP presidential race last week. Asked at a campaign stop in Keene, N.H., what he thought about his new rival, Wilson quipped: “I must say I envy his 25 million bucks.”

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NON-STARTER: Bill Clinton may fancy himself the common man, but he’s apparently several laps ahead of the common runner. A national running magazine wanted to see if the First Jogger, famous for puffing around the capital with politicos and celebs, had interest in pounding treads with an ordinary runner. So Glenn Cote, in concert with Running Times, wrote the prez. “Even though you’re slower than me,” Cote wrote, “I think it’d be all right to train with you.” Cote got no response from the White House. “What’s the deal?” Cote’s second note said. “I could help you stick with your training. [I read over the weekend that your weight is up 6 pounds.]” No response. His third letter continued the weight-shame theme, noting that he had seen Clinton on TV running with former Boston Marathon champ Bill Rodgers, whose store in Boston has “a good seafood restaurant right near it.” No response. So Cote tried Veep Al Gore. No response. He wrote Gore once more: “Now I know that you’re Mr. Information Superhighway and everything, but does that mean you no longer use the postal service?” That set the circuitry firing, and drew a response declining because Gore’s “schedule is uncertain.”

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TOP TWENTY: Democratic chances of regaining control of the House of Representatives will likely turn on the outcome of races for 20 seats now held by freshman Republicans whose districts are considered vulnerable. The seats are considered precarious because, according to political scientist Gary Jacobson of UC San Diego, the average vote for President in 1988 and 1992 in these districts was more Democratic than Republican. The Democrats’ opportunity list includes six seats in Washington state, where anti-incumbent fever--much of it directed against then-House Speaker Thomas S. Foley--was at a peak in 1994 during the state’s strong term-limit movement. Three California seats on the list are those held by Steve Horn of Long Beach, Brian P. Bilbray of San Diego and Frank Riggs of Ukiah.

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SOUL MATES: Who’s leading the charge in Congress to pick apart Franklin D. Roosevelt’s social programs? House Speaker Newt Gingrich, of course. Who is featured next week at a $5,000-a-plate fund-raising dinner for the F.D.R. Memorial? You got it. The Georgia Republican describes himself as a longtime admirer of Roosevelt--except maybe for that New Deal thing.