WASHINGTON INSIGHT

WARMING TREND: It really must be a new day at the CIA. Last Friday, the director of central intelligence, John M. Deutch, gave an award for meritorious service to former Sen. Dennis DeConcini, the Arizona Democrat and ex-chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee who led the congressional charge against the man Deutch replaced, R. James Woolsey. Deutch presented DeConcini with a CIA seal medallion and an intelligence community seal medallion during a ceremony at CIA headquarters in Langley, Va. The award provided yet another signal of Deutch’s break with the Woolsey period, which was marked by controversy and bitter battles with Capitol Hill lawmakers. DeConcini and others repeatedly clashed with Woolsey over the direction of the CIA after the end of the Cold War and over the Aldrich H. Ames spy scandal. Many lawmakers thought Woolsey had not moved quickly and firmly enough to discipline those who should have ferreted out Ames earlier.

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A LITTLE SIGN: Here’s one for all you watchers of Colin L. Powell. The retired general has had a 20-year love affair with Volvos; his hobby is fixing up and driving the utilitarian Swedish cars. But some are seeing significance in the fact that Powell recently leased a new made-in-America Cadillac Seville STS. Patrick J. Buchanan, whose political message includes a strong protectionist strain, was criticized during his 1992 campaign for driving a Mercedes. He too now drives a Caddy.

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GRAMM FIZZ: Trying to inject some humor at a gathering last weekend that featured Vice President Al Gore as the main speaker, the New Hampshire AFL-CIO convention newsletter concluded: “Drive home safely, and remember: If you must drink and drive, try to do it when Phil Gramm is crossing the street.” The state’s Republican leadership failed to appreciate the stab at political satire. Gov. Steve Merrill called on the union organization to apologize to Gramm. And the Texas senator’s reaction? Gramm said the one-liner only provided further proof that Democrats feared him more than GOP front-runner Bob Dole of Kansas. “This statement shows very clearly that the AFL-CIO, the Democratic Party and Bill Clinton clearly do not want to run against me,” Gramm said.

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SOME FUN: When Mike McCurry took over as White House press secretary almost a year ago, he said he wanted to make the press operation more fun. He did so in recent days, but it could scarcely have been the sort of frolic he had in mind. McCurry stirred Republican anger by saying he thought the party would like to see Medicare “just die and go away.” And then he added, “That’s probably what they’d like to see happen to seniors too, if you think about it.” He retracted the remark immediately. But that wasn’t enough for Senate Majority Leader Dole and House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.), who called for his firing. President Clinton stood by his besieged aide, but told him he had been wrong to make the comment. It didn’t end there. The next day, Gingrich said he was still “fairly infuriated,” and vowed not to go “in any room anywhere ever again with McCurry in the room. Period.” Asked about Gingrich’s comment, McCurry replied simply: “I always enjoy his company.” Gingrich visited the White House on Wednesday to talk with Clinton about the budget. McCurry was not in the room. But he was seen walking and talking with Gingrich’s spokesman Tony Blankley.