WASHINGTON INSIGHT

JUDICIAL PRIVILEGE: Moments after swearing in Bill Clinton to his second term of office, Supreme Court Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist was heard to utter a somewhat ominous-sounding “good luck”--as in, “You’ll need it.” What Rehnquist knew--that the president did not--was that only five days earlier, the court had voted unanimously that a president does not have constitutional immunity from lawsuits unrelated to his official duties, thus clearing the way for Paula Corbin Jones to pursue her sexual harassment case. When the court issued the ruling Tuesday, the then-odd tenor of Rehnquist’s remark took on new meaning.

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ONE PERSON’S DISASTER...: Congress’ delay in approving an $8.4-billion disaster aid bill is affecting more than just flood-recovery efforts in California, the Dakotas and other states. It also has delayed the homecoming of about 100 dead polar bears. Tucked inside the bill is a provision designed to straighten out problems with a 1994 law that imposed new restrictions on the importation of polar bear parts. It has kept several dozen people who had legally caught polar bears in Canada from bringing their skins or trophies across the border, and left the bears chilling in cold storage. The disaster aid provision, designed to make clear that the skins of bears killed before 1994 can still be imported, was introduced by Rep. Charlie Norwood (R-Ga.) after a constituent complained that he was being prevented from bringing home his prey from a 1992 hunting trip in Canada. When it and the other bears are brought into the country, the government stands to gain $100,000 for a polar bear conservation fund because the Fish and Wildlife Service collects a $1,000 fee for every bear imported. Both the House and Senate readily accepted Norwood’s proposal.

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TIME WARP: Asked whether he ever wishes he had been born into the generation that won World War II and waged the Cold War, Clinton says First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton seems to think so. “About 30 days after I first met my wife, she said that I was a person born out of my time, I was born 30 years too late,” Clinton told reporters last week. “It was an interesting comment. I never was sure what she meant by it. But she just said I was a little too old-fashioned for the world I was living in.”

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SHOULD HAVE BROUGHT A CHECK: Anyone seeking proof that power is fleeting in Washington need only consider the predicament of Vernon A. Walters, retired Army general, onetime deputy director of the CIA, distinguished linguist and former ambassador to Germany. Walters, who early in his military career served as an aide to Gen. George C. Marshall, was invited by Clinton’s staff last week to brief White House reporters on the 50th anniversary of the Marshall Plan. Arriving at the White House’s northwest gate, Walters was told to wait. As the wait dragged on and Walters watched a stream of reporters and presidential staffers pass through the gate, the distinguished visitor was left shaking his head, muttering, “It’s getting harder and harder to get into this place.”

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ON THE FLY: Scheduled to address the Anti-Defamation League last week, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia made good use of one of the best tools in the talker’s bag of tricks: humor. As he rose to address the group, Scalia said he felt “like the man who comes home drunk and tries to sneak into the house, but loudly falls face down on the carpet.” Confronted by an angry wife demanding an explanation, the man says, “I have no prepared remarks, but will entertain questions from the floor.” Which, in lieu of giving a speech, is exactly what Scalia did.