"Vernon Jordan is reported to have changed …" -- In his Grand Jury testimony, Vernon Jordan, who is one of the most inside of Washington insiders, is reported to have said he didn't remember having breakfast with Monica. Monica said she DID have breakfast with Jordan and at that breakfast they had discussed getting rid of any love letter-type correspondence and her phony affidavit about her never having had sex with Clinton. Yesterday, he was reported to have been presented with the charge slip and the ticket which would indicate that breakfast did, in fact, take place.

"The Hamlet Defense." -- The most famous phrase from Shakespeare's "Hamlet" is, of course, "Alas, poor Yurik. I knew him." The next most famous is "To be or not to be. That is the question." The business about what "is" is in the President's Grand Jury testimony reminded me that "is" is part of the verb "to be." Or not "to be." Next time, read the play, not the Cliff Notes.

"… the annual Correspondents' Dinner …" -- There are several of these formal dinners each year. The Congressional Correspondents', the White House Correspondents' (at which Don Imus made his career-turning remarks) and the Gridiron Dinner. The first two are black-tie, the last is white tie. At the Gridiron Dinner I did, as noted, get a piece of steak caught in my throat which would not go down or come back up. I finally had to leave and apologized in Mullings the next day for having had an "Elizabeth Taylor Moment."

"Get me a paper bag!" -- The traditional remedy for hyperventilation is breathing into a paper bag.

"Hollywood Squares Cable Chat Show" -- The standard format of the chat shows is to have three or four guests in separate locations. Often they will be on-screen at the same time in four boxes, which is very much like the old Hollywood Squares program. I'll take Lanny Davis to block.