WASHINGTON INSIGHT

THE VOCAL MINORITY: Despite allegations that he engaged in a sexual relationship with a former White House intern, President Clinton is almost always greeted by cheering crowds and warm embraces when he ventures out in public. But Sunday morning, while on a walk with the first lady in East Hampton, N.Y., the president encountered some dissenting voices. While much of the crowd shouted such accolades as “Mr. President, you’re terrific!” Terry Goodson and her husband yelled, “Liar! Perjurer!” Explaining her anger, Goodson said: “My children have the example of a man who lied to their country.” But some of the president’s supporters in the crowd attacked the Goodsons for being rude. “When there’s a guest in your house, your manners should be better,” said Anita Hoffman, who was standing next to the couple.

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KEEPING UP WITH THE DOLES: Although he hasn’t been feeling up to snuff lately, former Senate majority leader and GOP presidential candidate Bob Dole showed up at the American Red Cross office one afternoon last week to help celebrate his wife’s 62nd birthday. He gave Elizabeth Hanford Dole, president of the Red Cross, a champagne-colored Chrysler Sebring convertible, much to her delight. Dole, who undergoes surgery tomorrow for an intestinal ailment, is still looking forward to becoming First Gentleman, a job he says will come with a driver. Meanwhile, he plans to return to his office at a law firm here in two to three weeks.

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THE MONICA CHANNEL? Maybe it’s the Alice-in-Wonderland effect or, to take a darker view, a glimpse into an Orwellian future in which the news is not about what happened but about people spinning what has happened. But for now, in this all-Monica, all-the-time media moment, it’s come to this: a public relations flack touting former White House intern Monica S. Lewinsky’s . . . flackability. According to Chris Ryan of Ryan & Assoc. Public Relations in Phoenix, “Monica Lewinsky Inc. could bring in a cool $20+ million if she makes the right decisions about her future.” Citing potential multimillion-dollar payoffs for everything from tell-all book rights and exclusive print and television interviews to a men’s magazine layout and “offbeat endorsements,” Ryan suggests that Lewinsky’s fame is a good thing, something of which she needs to take full advantage. Stay tuned.