WASHINGTON INSIGHT

MIND OF HER OWN: Despite widely published stories, including in this newspaper, that Atty. Gen. Janet Reno would decide as soon as two days ago whether to seek outside prosecutors for campaign fund-raising allegations involving President Clinton and Vice President Al Gore, she has let it be known that there will be no decision before the Thanksgiving weekend.

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THE CHIEF TRACK: As Clinton ponders a successor for White House Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles, who’s planning to leave by early next year, the president’s stumble on fast track may be reshaping his calculations. After 80% of House Democrats abandoned Clinton during the trade debate, some White House insiders believe the president is now looking for a chief who can mend relations with his party’s congressional wing. That’s raising the prospects of such contenders as Deputy Chief of Staff John Podesta and retiring Democratic Rep. Vic Fazio of West Sacramento--a centrist who backed Clinton on fast track but also has good relations with House liberals. The new focus could tilt Clinton away from congressional relations chief John Hilley, whose ties are to Senate Democrats, and Office of Management and Budget Director Franklin Raines, a relatively nonpartisan manager. And former Trade Representative Mickey Kantor could be hurt by Democratic allegations that the administration failed to fulfill deals he negotiated to pass the North American Free Trade Agreement, White House sources say.

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FAVORABLE WEST WINDS: Last week it looked like Togo West Jr. was headed for a fall, but now the secretary of the Army appears headed up--to a new job as secretary of Veterans Affairs. West was put on the spot when critics charged the White House with “selling” burial plots at Arlington National Cemetery to Democratic fat cats. But hard evidence proved to be in short supply, and after West’s impassioned counterattack at a press conference on Friday, the White House is crowing about its man. “I don’t think the Republicans will take him on now,” one official said of West, who has yet to be nominated for the VA post.

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FAST TRACK: With 10 vacant seats on the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, the Clinton administration and Senate Republicans have finally found a nominee they can agree on--Barry G. Silverman, a federal magistrate from Phoenix, who is said to be scholarly and fair. Most important, he is backed by Arizona Sen. Jon Kyl, a Judiciary Committee Republican. While some 9th Circuit nominees have been waiting two years for a confirmation vote, Silverman was nominated Nov. 8 and approved by the Senate panel five days later. Had the Senate stayed in session, he would have won confirmation this month. Known for a quick sense of humor, Silverman once rolled his chair backward and fell to the floor while conducting a trial. Slowly collecting himself and returning to his chair, he took a sip of water and said, “Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, you are instructed to disregard the fact that the court just rolled off the bench, toppled to the floor and landed on its keister.”

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JET TAG: Those long flights home for the weekend pose a special challenge to members of Congress from faraway places like California. But Rep. Gary Condit (D-Ceres), the hip, cigar-chomping, motorcyle-riding son of a Baptist minister, has found a sure-fire way to pass the time. He plays hand-held video games. On one recent transcontinental flight, he was challenged by a child half his size who also possessed a Game Boy. Guess who got whupped.