Capital briefs

* MCCAIN GOES INACTIVE: In the wake of Texas Gov. George W. Bush's crushing, coast-to-coast victory in the Super Tuesday primaries, an obviously disappointed Arizona Sen. John McCain announced Thursday that "I am no longer an active candidate" for the Republican nomination. In a grudging, graceless speech, McCain said, "I congratulate Gov. Bush and wish him and his family well. He very well may become the next President of the United States." McCain made no endorsement of Bush, expressed no criticism of Bill Clinton or Al Gore and did not ask his crossover voters to become Republicans. 'He indicated he will remain in the GOP"I love my party. It is my home"-but repeatedly emphasized his "cause of reform."

* BUSH-COX? Now that Bush has wrapped up the GOP nomination, attention has turned to his choice of running mate, especially since McCain is clearly not interested in the job and Bush is not interested in tapping McCain, at least right now. Excited by the fact that the GOP took more than half the votes in the open California presidential primary and that the voters passed a number of conservative ballot propositions, party activists now believe Bush has a good shot at carrying the state in the fall-and that his chances would certainly be enhanced by having a Californian on the ticket. The man they are looking at is solid conservative Rep. Chris Cox, the highly respected head of the House Republican Policy Committee who received national praise last year for his chairmanship of the House select committee that exposed Red Chinese espionage in the United States.

When Cox addressed several final Bush rallies in Orange County, there were "Cox for Vice President" chants from the audience, and just days before the primary, there was discussion in Los Angeles about having the 162-person California delegation to the national convention write Bush urging him to select the congressman as his running mate. Many party stalwarts believe that the young (47), highly intelligent Cox would be a formidable debater against anyone Gore chooses for his ticket. The pro-life Cox is also a Roman Catholic, which is considered a big plus in the postBob Jones atmosphere. Another Catholic also being mentioned by some Republicans in Washington is retiring Sen. Connie Mack of Florida, but his age (60) is considered a negative, as is his wife's poor health,

* WHAT NEXT FOR MCCAIN? Although some McCainwatchers were speculating last week that the Arizona senator, despite his declared intention to remain a Republican, might eventually try to revive his candidacy on the Reform Party ticket. Don't bet on it. Should George W. Bush become President and tap Sen. John Warner (R.-Va.) as ambassador to the Court of St. James (a post the Virginian reportedly covets), the next in line to succeed Warner as chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee is John McCain. Even a public flirtation with a third-party movement, sources say, would end McCain's chances of fulfilling his dream of wielding the Armed Services gavel.

* WELCOME, YOUR HONORS: The Senate comfortably confirmed far-left Clinton judicial appointees Richard Paez and Marsha Berzon on March 9, dismissing a filibuster led by conservative senators Bob Smith (R.-N.H.) and Jeff Sessions (R.-Ala.). Paez got his seat on the already radical 9th Circuit Court of Appeals by a vote of 59 to 39, and Berzon got hers, 64 to 34. A motion to postpone the votes had earlier gone down to defeat, 31 to 67. (See HUMAN EVENTs rollcalls next week.) Sessions had especially asked that Paez's nomination be kept on hold a bit longer in order to probe the sweetheart deal given to John Huang by the Justice Department, which Paez approved as a district judge. I think they are activist judges," said Smith. I think they are out of the mainstream of American thought."

* STOP STALLING: The federal judge overseeing the classaction lawsuit over the misuse of FBI files is highly frustrated by the Pentagon's stalling in releasing its report on the violation of Linda Tripp's privacy. The Department of Defense (DOD) claims the investigation is "ongoing," but United States District Judge Royce Lambert is very skeptical, pointing out that confidential information about Tripp was first leaked March 13, 1998. "Indeed, the court finds it impossible to fathom how an internal investigation into such a simple matter could take so long to conclude," he said in an opinion last week. "Likewise, the 'ongoing' nature of the investigation appears equally implausible given the fact that the Tripp release presents such a clear violation of the Privacy Act, as this court has previously noted." The DOD was given just 20 days in which to turn over the requested materials.

* DON'T WRITE rr DOWN: In recent court documents Judge Lamberth cited a January 1999 letter in which Defense official Les Blake told a Government Accounting Office investigator that his superior had rebuked him for creating a traceable "record" dealing with the abuse of Linda Tripp's personnel file. After Blake sent electronic mail to his boss explaining the violation of Linda Tripp's privacy, Margaret Munson, according to Blake's letter, complained that 'this is a very serious issue which could involve the impeachment of the President."