Clinton Talks, but What He Said Is a Secret, Kind of

President Clinton was in the mood to talk.

He sprawled on the floor of Air Force One in too-tight jeans, a starched blue work shirt and white Nikes. Like a college bull session. Talking about books, music, movies, religion, the Middle East, world leaders, his daughter Chelsea, peach cobbler and more.

He talked and talked. For an hour. He went away to eat, played five games of hearts and came back. For two more hours.

What did he say? It’s a secret, sort of, under new White House rules dubbed “psych background,” a variation of official Washington’s practice of conveying information through anonymous sources and supposedly off-the-record sessions.

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Clinton’s unusual encounter with reporters occurred as his plane sped home through the night from Israel and Egypt.

No note-taking or taping were allowed, no quotations or direct attribution of the president’s views and thoughts.

The pool report written by reporters on the plane suggested that Clinton’s views might be conveyed by phrases such as “it can be reported on the highest authority that. . . . “

In that regard, for example, it could be reported on the highest authority that:

* Clinton believes Syria may now regret that it did not attend Wednesday’s antiterrorism summit.

* He believes global warming will be one of the 21st century’s foremost concerns. He feels biology will be to the 21st century what physics was to the 20th.

* He is waiting for 16-year-old Chelsea to get her driver’s license. Like many fathers, he worries about her dating and is already sad at the prospect of her going off to college. He lost track of 20 years of pop music development and Chelsea is helping him catch up.