The Notebook: Will Reno Flex Her Muscle?

"I believe it fully appropriate for the head of a national party to secure a meeting for a supporter with an Administration official and to advocate a worthy cause."
Donald Fowler, former Democratic chairman, in Senate testimony

"The right to keep and bear arms is the one right that allows rights to exist at all."
Charlton Heston, actor and N.R.A. officer, at the National Press Club

"To everyone's shock, she took her clothes off, leaving her underwear on, and boldly jumped into the water."
Yehiel Leket, Jewish Agency official, recalling then professor Madeleine Albright's trip to Israel 13 years ago and her dip in the Sea of Galilee

Campaign Finance: Has Even Janet Reno Begun To Lose Patience?

(TIME, September 22) -- Though Attorney General JANET RENO still resists naming an independent counsel in the campaign-finance investigation, sources say she is increasingly dissatisfied with the slow pace of her own task force. Reno and Deputy Attorney General ERIC HOLDER are discussing an internal shake-up in order to accelerate the probe.

Reno and Holder, a hard-charging prosecutor who took office as Reno's No. 2 just two months ago, are deeply concerned about frequent clashes among FBI agents and task-force lawyers, led by LAURA INGERSOLL of the department's Public Integrity section. Ingersoll, a veteran of the achingly deliberative Public Integrity culture, favors the time-tested tactic of starting with small players--the Buddhist nuns, for example--and working up to bigger ones. FBI officials counter that this approach could take years. While Reno and Holder may not side with the FBI on every point, sources say they have come to agree that the case demands a more muscular approach.

--By Elaine Shannon/Washington

Politics: For Bill, Another Satisfied Customer

The President has a well-known talent for saying just the thing that will hook whatever individual he is talking to at the moment. No one knows this better than JOHN TRAVOLTA, who plays the character based on Clinton in the upcoming film version of Primary Colors. In a conversation with TIME, Travolta described what happened when he met his real-life counterpart at the volunteerism summit in Philadelphia last April. "I hadn't felt the exact seduction everyone says they feel when they're around him, and I wondered when it was coming," Travolta recalled. "Then he said he wanted to help me with the Scientology situation in Germany." Travolta is a strong adherent of Scientology, which is under attack from the German government. "[Clinton] said he had a roommate years ago who was a Scientologist and had really liked him, and respected his views on it. He said he felt we were given an unfair hand in that country, and that he wanted to fix it. That did it. It was like--wow! You're kidding! Really? Well, all right." The schmoozing continues. A letter from Clinton was read at a tribute that a Hollywood arts group, the American Cinematheque, recently gave for Travolta. It praised him for having "created some of the most memorable characters of our era."

--By Jeffrey Ressner/Los Angeles

The White HOuse: Time To Call In The Executive Headhunters

The search goes on. ERSKINE BOWLES, the third man to serve as chief of staff in the Clinton White House, is so eager to leave that he has done everything but pack his bags. The problem for Clinton is figuring out who could replace him.

Scratch one leading candidate. Budget Director FRANKLIN RAINES, who won many fans during his handling of the budget negotiations and who might have given Clinton the distinction of appointing the first black to the post, has let it be known to Bowles and others that he is not interested. Raines maintains that he wants more time with his three young daughters, though others speculate his real interest is in becoming Treasury Secretary, should Robert Rubin vacate that job.

That leaves an even shorter short list. The betting is on former Commerce Secretary and Trade Representative MICKEY KANTOR, who was disappointed when he didn't get the job in the first place. Also in the running are JOHN HILLEY, Clinton's point man on dealing with Capitol Hill, and National Security Adviser SANDY BERGER. But White House handicappers speculate that Hilley may have too many enemies in the White House and on the Hill, and Berger's chances suffer because he took over at the N.S.C. just a few months ago.

--By Karen Tumulty/Washington