WASHINGTON INSIGHT

NO GRUDGES: What a difference a month makes. In September, when President Clinton’s confession of an affair with a former White House intern was still fresh, Maryland Gov. Parris Glendening snubbed the president by skipping a Clinton event at a school in Silver Spring, Md. And in an even harsher political slap, Glendening essentially rescinded his invitation for Clinton to appear at a campaign fund-raiser, and instead asked Vice President Al Gore to headline the Oct. 2 event. But now, with the election just three weeks away, Glendening’s chances against Republican candidate Ellen Sauerbrey, the same candidate he defeated by only 6,000 votes four years ago, are looking iffy. Clinton’s job approval rating, meanwhile, remains extremely high. So when Clinton went to another Silver Spring school Tuesday, Glendening was there--basking in the president’s praise. Clinton applauded the governor for spending time tutoring students despite his busy job and for his excellent governing. “This is one of the most innovative state governments in America,” Clinton said at Forest Knolls Elementary School. “And as a person who served as governor for 12 years, I believe I know a little something about that,” he added. White House officials refrained from saying anything negative about Glendening and his change of heart.

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THE COMMON TOUCH: The House Judiciary Committee may be stacked with former federal prosecutors and other legal eagles, but David P. Schippers, the head counsel for committee Republicans, singled out none other than Rep. Mary Bono (R-Palm Springs) as the lawmaker who has most impressed him in the early stages of the impeachment review. Bono’s public statements on the scandal have been short on legal arguments and long on personal reflections. One of three nonlawyers on the committee, Bono put in long hours reviewing independent counsel Kenneth W. Starr’s report and generally “worked her tail off,” Schippers said. “You get 10 lawyers in a room and you have chaos,” he said. “You put one citizen in there and everything comes out all right.” Other non-J.D.s on the committee are Reps. Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles) and Elton Gallegly (R-Simi Valley).

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FEELING FLAT? Sen. Alfonse M. D’Amato, also known as “Sen. Pothole,” has been both ridiculed and praised for his attention to local detail. Don’t knock it, Clinton said Monday night at a fund-raiser for Democratic Rep. Charles E. Schumer, who is trying to unseat the New York Republican. “It’s not funny if you’ve got a pothole in front of your house. It’s hard to think about the higher things if you get a flat every morning,” said the president, who doesn’t have to think about flat tires himself. But, he added: “If Chuck Schumer is a senator, given his level of energy, his intensity, his aggressiveness, he will make Sen. D’Amato look laid back when it comes to filling potholes.”

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NOWHERE TO RUN: Is there no place that hasn’t heard of Monica-gate? A tourist who just returned from central Turkey reports that in the remote Cappadocia hamlet of Belisirma (population 200), where they lack freezers but have TV satellite dishes, Clinton is a hot topic. Village women say he’s “sexy” and have decided that he’s a “high swinger” (on a scale from “swinger” to “mid-swinger” to “high”). And in even more remote, if that is possible, eastern Turkey, tourist Kitty Meredith, 64, of Eugene, Ore., was greeted with chants of “Cleen-ton!” and “Mon-ika!” when she visited village cafes.