ELDERS . . . SWAN SOUNDBITE

Ex-Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders, popping up on TV and continuing to pop off at every opportunity since President Clinton sacked her Friday for saying schoolchildren might be taught about masturbation, stood by those comments again today. "I really think I was talking about teaching children about, you know, that nothing terrible will happen to them if they play with themselves," Elders said on NBC's "Today" show. "I was talking about information." She chalked her firing up to differences with Clinton and said a president has the right to hire people who agree with him. But she couldn't part without a small dig at her well-to-do foes: "Truth as I see it and truth as you see it may be two different things, but certainly dealing with many of our poorer communities, I know that their outlook on life is very different from someone who plans a trip to Europe every summer." Late today, Elders announced she'd return to Arkansas, where she'll revive a research and teaching career at the University of Arkansas.Post your opinion on theWashingtonbulletin board.