Notebook: Mar. 16, 1998

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"He basically was recollecting what had transpired and was checking to see if Ms. Currie's recollection was the same." A source "close to Clinton," explaining that the President did not call Betty Currie the day after his deposition in order to coach her

"This young woman...made contact with a very vulnerable element of our society--police officers--and then dr[ew] them in." Attorney Troy Spencer, explaining why his client, a Virginia cop suspended for exchanging sexy Internet messages with a minor, did what he did

"Where did most of the slave ships stop? In the South." Arkansas basketball coach Nolan Richardson, on why there are so many good players in the Southeastern Conference

"It was expensive, dirty and a lot of crime, a lot of people, very congested." Earl Pitts, the ex-FBI agent jailed for spying, says he did it because he was assigned to New York City

"Males are made up differently... Men compete, get along, and move on with few emotions, but women break down, get emotional." Big East commissioner Michael Tranghese on why he wouldn't suspend rules for an injured male athlete as he had for a female

NUMBERS

$7.1 million: Reported amount of the contract running back Lamar Smith signed last week with the New Orleans Saints

2: Months in the work release-prison sentence for vehicular assault Smith is in the midst of serving

$8 billion: Projected Federal Government budget surplus for fiscal year 1998

42: Number of hours it takes the Federal Government to spend $8 billion

10.8: Percentage of women in a recent survey who admitted having sex with their supervisor

64: Percentage of that group who said the affair resulted in career advancement

19: Percentage in overall survey who believe Monica Lewinsky made a mistake if she had an affair with President Clinton

22: Percentage in overall survey who said the current scandal has made them more hesitant to begin an office romance with a colleague other than the boss

Sources: CNN/SI; Congressional Budget Office; Osias Foundation