■ President Clinton, at press conference: “I’ve had more blacks who’ve served in my cabinet, more Hispanics who’ve served in my cabinet. More people … from Asia have been appointed in my administration than any previous administration by far.” People from Asia? Daphne Kwok of the National Council for Asian Pacific Americans replies: “Talk like this confuses the American populace about the Asian-American community. Are we from Asia or are we really Americans?” . . . Las Vegas mayor Oscar Goodman, a former mob lawyer, describes his Election Day on 60 Minutes: “I had one message at 4:55 and one message at 5:00. The one at 5:00 was the White House and President Clinton. The one at 4:55 was a former drug dealer that I represented, both congratulating me. So, I said, ‘That says it all.’ ” . . . Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. on Clinton legacy: “What historians will first think about [Clinton] is that he’s the first elected president ever to be impeached, and that’s something that’s an indelible stain on his reputation. They will, on the other hand, [ask] to what extent he sold out the historic legacy of the Democratic Party. He missed this great opportunity … to be a transformational president.”
■ Vice President Gore, on whether he will rule out raising taxes: “You have to have flexibility on the fiscal side. . . . Nobody has a crystal ball.”… Bill Bradley, on whether he will rule out raising taxes: “Nobody can predict the future of a trillion-dollar economy.” . . . Liberal Democratic Reps. Jim McDermott (Wash.), George Miller (Calif.), and Pete Stark (Calif.) endorse Bradley. . . . ABC News, which fired correspondent Bob Zelnick last year for not breaking contract to write Gore biography, refuses to discipline White House correspondent John Cochran this year for hosting Gore dinner at home.
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