WASHINGTON INSIGHT

BODY LANGUAGE: Air Force One was the scene of a unique gathering of American political figures this week as President Clinton led a large delegation to Jerusalem for the funeral of slain Israeli leader Yitzhak Rabin. Among the passengers were former Presidents George Bush and Jimmy Carter, who joined Clinton in a forward conference room for a 10-minute session with reporters. As each reminisced about their association with Rabin, reporters were struck by the body language. Bush and Carter appeared impatient with Clinton’s long-winded, mawkish answers to questions about the prospects for peace after the assassination. By comparison, Bush’s and Carter’s answers were crisp and to the point. Elsewhere on the aircraft, the most uncomfortable passenger seemed to be Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole, who had the honor of being seated next to House Speaker Newt Gingrich. The irrepressible Speaker lived up to his title by talking to those around him virtually nonstop for the 10-hour flight, as Dole slouched ever lower in his seat, trying to get some sleep.

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IN THE SPIRIT: The entrepreneurial spirit throbs in the Republican Congress, so perhaps it is right and proper for a major retailer to see an opportunity in this year’s exhausting congressional schedule. “We’ve heard reports that Congress may be in session right up to Christmas, and we’re worried you won’t have time to shop for gifts for your loved ones,” says a letter JC Penney recently sent to every member of Congress. Accompanying the letter was the department store chain’s 636-page Christmas catalogue. Asked about the mailing, Hank Rusman, Penney’s public information manager, demonstrated that he has more in common with lawmakers than a love of free enterprise. The letter could be “loosely interpreted as a sales promotion, but more importantly it is intended as a gesture of understanding,” he spun. “We’re trying to be helpful.”

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ABOUT FACE: Christina Jeffrey lives. The college professor from Marietta, Ga., was hired by Gingrich in January to be historian of the House, then promptly fired by Gingrich after charges arose that she had written anti-Semitic remarks in a 1986 evaluation of a college course. Jeffrey protested, claiming she had been misunderstood and ripping “evil” and “wicked” politics in Washington. She met with Abraham Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League, who wrote a letter last summer saying the organization did not believe she was anti-Semitic and would support her for the post. Gingrich has now apologized to Jeffrey and says she may be hired as a summer consultant to develop educational programs at the Capitol. “She’s exactly the person we thought we were bringing up [to Washington] in the first place,” he says.

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DR. ROBOLETTER: The letter sent to the 3,400 delegates to the Presidency III convention Nov. 18 in Orlando, Fla., could have been a touch more personal. “As chairman of Sen. Phil Gramm’s campaign in Florida, I’m excited about the campaign we’re organizing,” said the letter from Sandra Mortham. “But, Mr. Samplename, we need your help if Phil Gramm is going to win the Republican nomination for President.” The campaign of GOP presidential candidate Lamar Alexander couldn’t resist pouring on the Mortons. Tre Evers, Alexander’s state director, wrote to the Gramm campaign: “Your recent letter to a Presidency III delegate named Mr. Samplename has confirmed for us something we have believed for weeks: namely, that your campaign possesses a secret list of PIII delegates not available to other campaigns.” Evers asked for other names the campaign was rumored to be hiding, including “Mr. Careless Mailvendor, Mr. & Mrs. Insinceremail, Dr. Roboletter.”