TRANSITION WATCH

PLUM SUBTLE: Call him Mr. X. He’s a foreign policy adviser to President-elect Bill Clinton who would like a plum job in the new Administration, but does not want to ruin his chances by appearing to self-promote. When asked about policy issues by a Times reporter, the man sought to solve his problem subtly by handing over a pile of pamphlets and reprints. “You can quote me on anything you read in these papers,” Mr. X said. “But everything else I say will be on background.” . . . In short, Mr. X might be quoted in the newspaper but no one can accuse him of saying anything.

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DO’S & DON’TS: Smart move, Mr. X. The worst thing the estimated 100,000 seekers of 4,000 Clinton Administration jobs can be is overeager, transition pros say. Some tips: Don’t put your name in the press and then call a Clinton aide and say, “Gee, did you see where I’m being mentioned for Interior secretary?” (One congressman did that and received a frosty response.) . . . If you gave money to Clinton’s campaign, don’t enclose canceled checks with your resume. And don’t submit endorsements from a bunch of Democratic lawmakers--too pushy. . . . Do, however, note early support of Clinton, especially if true. And contacts don’t hurt. Did you ever play tennis with Democratic National Committee Chairman Ronald H. Brown or sit next to Transition Team Director Warren Christopher at an event? Do you know one of Clinton’s Oxford pals? “Get your resume to these folks fast ,” implores Richard Koonce of EnterChange Inc., a Washington headhunting firm.

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BACK AGAIN: Former aides in the Jimmy Carter Administration are coming out of the woodwork hoping for return engagements. Michael Berman, deputy chief of staff to then-Vice President Walter F. Mondale, is in the running to head Clinton’s congressional lobbying team. The Washington lawyer-lobbyist has been with Clinton in bad times as well as good. Berman was among those observed commiserating with Clinton in a bar after the Arkansas governor gave a clunker speech nominating Michael S. Dukakis for President at the 1988 Democratic National Convention.

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JOG STOP: A decade ago, 750 17th St. N.W. was the Sans Souci restaurant, a power-lunch fishbowl where VIPs held forth and held court. Now a McDonald’s is there, just a Chicken McNugget’s throw away from the White House. . . . That should fit perfectly into the jogging plans of the President-elect, who is said to be looking for a convenient Golden Arches to stop for a cup of decaf and chat up the patrons--just as he does mornings in Little Rock, Ark. . . . Store manager Mario Castillo is already beaming: “People will want to see him very close and shake his hand. It should help sell some Big Breakfasts.”

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WONK MUSIC: Some of the political lingo that groaned to life in this year’s campaigns shows disturbing signs of carrying into the Clinton Administration. Prominent examples: wonks (the all-work-no-play nerds who wrote the 10-point plans or talked incessantly about them--i.e., Clinton and Paul E. Tsongas) . . . grow the economy (a Clinton hybrid) . . . toast (as in “We’re toast--20 points down in the polls and no chance of winning”). . . . And of course Ross Perot’s “We’re not playing Lawrence Welk music here.” . . . The new lingo could turn into a single admonition some months hence: “If the wonks keep playing Lawrence Welk music and don’t grow the economy, they’re toast.”