Updated: Apr 2 1998 12:27AM

Jones vs. Clinton: The President prevails. J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE/AP

WASHINGTON: The decision to dismiss the Paula Jones case was based on Arkansas law, not on the facts, but in politics, that'll do just fine.

"Clinton will never be able to claim that he didn't do it -- but that doesn't really matter," says TIME White House correspondent Jay Branegan. "The public will only see that he won the case, and they'll believe him. It's a huge victory."

What the President can claim is that the Jones case never should have been filed, and that it's further proof that the right-wingers are out to get him. "The White House is going to redouble its defense that a meritless case was pursued purely to harass and embarrass him," says Branegan. "And they'll apply that spin directly to Ken Starr."

-- Frank Pellegrini