SCHOOL PRAYER . . . CLINTON SCALES BACK

A top White House aide today said the Clinton Administration might pursue legislation allowing a moment of silence in school, but not a constitutional amendment, which President Clinton on Tuesday had indicated he'd discuss with incoming GOP leaders. "We think we can get it done legislatively without going down the constitutional path," Deputy White House Counsel Joel Klein said. Incoming House Speaker Newt Gingrich, nonetheless, plans to force a House floor vote on an amendment. But the tide may be turning against him. Rep. Bill Goodling (R-Pa.), incoming head of the House Education and Labor Committee, today indicated that he might oppose a plan to introduce prayer in schools: "I would oppose personally a one-size-fits-all mandated Christian prayer that everyone would recite aloud," he said, noting that he'd only hold hearings on school prayer if Gingrich follows today's Clinton approach.