THEY STILL DON'T GET IT

By MARGARET CARLSON

Despite the angst over Packwood's wet kisses, the sexual-harassment wars are still lopsided. Three women and a tape apparently don't equal one man whose feelings were hurt. Debbie Henson was let go by the Republican National Committee after five months on the job. She has sued the R.N.C., describing a put-out-to-get-ahead atmosphere where backrubs, lap sitting and being called "pretty thing" were not unusual. Sexual-harassment fatigue kept Henson's suit from getting much attention until an R.N.C. video surfaced. In one skit, national convention manager Bill Greener hires a well-endowed stripper, insisting he's actually more of an "ass man"; in another, a man is made very happy by a woman under a table. Recently two women, one of whom now works for Senator Bob Dole, filed affidavits supporting Henson. The R.N.C., where no heads have rolled, has refused efforts to settle.

But look at the swift action taken to remove Bernice Harris when a male aide to G.O.P. Senator Mitch McConnell cried harassment after being called "baby" by the 58-year-old cashier, who has been dishing up food and Southern endearments for 30 years in the Capitol. Fortunately, staff members in Senator David Pryor's office, who eat at "Bernice's" every day, found out she had quit rather than be transferred, even though she was just short of qualifying for her full pension. A letter-writing campaign got her reinstated. McConnell's spokesman says "allowances have to be made" because the complainant is hearing impaired. His boss, however, had a chance to stop him but didn't. Oscar-night parties are the Publishers Clearing House of the glossy magazines, with Vanity Fair throwing the premier bash in L.A. and Entertainment Weekly holding forth in Manhattan. George magazine entered the sweepstakes with its first party in Washington at the hilltop house of Peggy and Conrad Cafritz. Editor in chief John F. Kennedy Jr. attracted an intense power cluster, usurping for the moment the cluster power of General Colin Powell, who sat in the corner rooting for Apollo 13. George president Michael Berman explained the genesis of the curious name. "Stephanopoulos was too hard to pronounce," he said, glancing at the eponymous presidential adviser. Kennedy in his remarks called his staff "Washington specialists," mystifying the crowd, who wondered whether he employed podiatrists or editors. You could tell you weren't in L.A. when former Nixon aide Leonard Garment picked the movie Nixon to win every category but one, and Clinton pal and lawyer Vernon Jordan said he wasn't paying attention to any event pushing a pig for a prize. National Endowment for the Arts chairwoman Jane Alexander headed upstairs to the Cafritzes' bedroom to watch the show in peace (she won the pool). Carolyn Bessette, Kennedy's girlfriend, who has proved that she's unafraid of PDAS (public displays of affection and anger), pulled Kennedy into another room at one point for a conference. This created more talk than did the question of how a movie with a leading man in a skirt could win so many awards.

The life expectancy of a good piece of beef at a Washington reception is about 20 minutes. But at a party for the 25th anniversary of Masterpiece Theatre at the British Embassy, the guests scarfed up all the salmon and ignored the filet. Is succumbing to the Mad-Cow Scare any way to treat the folks who brought us The Jewel in the Crown, Lord Peter Wimsey and House of Cards? Buck up and pass the meat.