O’Connor humor is off the record

WASHINGTON – Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, newly sworn in as the first woman to serve on the Supreme Court, picked a gathering of reporters for her initial step into the Washington social scene, accepting an invitation to swear in Carol Richards of Gannett News Service as the new president of the Washington Press Club – a club, by the way, which didn’t allow any men as members until 10 years ago.

Everything was moving along smoothly until the afternoon of the event when a White House staffer called Richards to report that Justice O’Connor was “quite adamant” that her remarks at the gathering be off the record – despite the fact that she was invited as “guest speaker” for an audience of more than 300 working journalists. The White House aide said he would do his best to get her to change her mind but a short time later called back to say the judge “simply has to go off the record.”

Before the program got under way, Richards tried to strike a compromise, suggesting that Justice O’Connor put part of her remarks on the record “just to give these people something to report,” and then go off the record for the remainder of her comments. But the judge said absolutely not.

Interestingly, her speech was brief, light and humorous – hardly the substantive, candid stuff of most off-the-records.

Rep. Barber Conable, R-N.Y., the master of ceremonies, also tried – and failed – to change Justice O’Connor’s mind, but his conversation with her may explain her reasoning.

“This is not a smart