Nominee

Gov. Casey yesterday announced that he was withdrawing his nomination of consumer advocate Otto F. Hofmann to fill a vacancy on the Public Utility Commission, after Republican allegations that Hofmann had smoked marijuana. The governor's office issued a two-page statement, vowing that "to his opponents, including the Philadelphia Electric Co., we say the fight for a qualified, people-oriented nominee to the PUC will go on and that the people, not the special interests, will ultimately prevail.

Win or lose, no Oscar nominee will leave Sunday's ceremony empty-handed. Just for showing up, nominees, presenters and performers earn a goodie bag with more than $30,000 worth of accessories, gizmos and beauty products, including: Kata Eyewear sunglasses, $350 Stuart Weitzman shoes, $500 Motorola Oscar phone, $200 Beamer Phone Video Station, $499 World According to Jess handbag, $190 Enjoy perfume by Jean Patou, $85...

The nomination of George Bush as the Republican candidate for president in 1992 is virtually a foregone conclusion. That leaves the state Republican Party presidential primaries and caucuses with little to do. Perhaps we should let them choose a vice president. Nine vice presidents have become chief executive when the president could not complete his term. Bush's health problems raise questions about his ability to complete a second term. Yet, if history is a guide, delegates to the 1992 GOP national convention will accept the president's choice and swallow their misgivings about Dan Quayle.

BILOXI, MISS. - Rick Santorum said yesterday that his path to the Republican Party's presidential nomination counts on continued chaos in the field and a fractured GOP arriving at its nominating convention in late summer. Though former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has a commanding lead in the crucial race for delegates to the national convention, Santorum told reporters a day before Alabama and Mississippi's presidential primaries that his standing in the race will improve if conservatives coalesce behind him - and if Newt Gingrich exits the race soon.

MAN-TO-MAN, ED KOCH FEELS SORRY FOR SPECTER As Jimmy Cannon used to say, nobody asked me but . . . Poor Arlen Specter, the incumbent Republican senator from Pennsylvania who's up for re-election this November. Gloria Steinem and company have decided they will ride to victory on his posterior. What did he do to deserve this attack? He has been an unflinching defender of women's rights, is a leading supporter of the security of Israel, and is the major liberal voice in the Republican senatorial cadre.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels was introduced Thursday as the next president of Purdue University, quashing speculation he could be the Republican nominee for vice president. Purdue officials announced the former White House budget director and Eli Lilly executive would be the university's 12th president after a unanimous vote by the school's board of brustees, eight of whose members were appointed by Daniels. One trustee was out of the country and did not vote. The governor will replace France Cordova, who is stepping down in July after five years at Purdue's helm.

"Marijuana McCarthyism" has claimed its latest victim, Otto Hofmann, who is now Gov. Casey's former nominee to a long-vacant seat on the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission. Mr. Hofmann, a Harrisburg lawyer, seemed to be turning the corner, heading toward Senate confirmation, despite intense opposition, Philadelphia Electric Co. and building trade unions chief among his foes. But his merits don't matter now, nor even his weaknesses. Nope, a mysterious private eye discovered that the nominee had smoked pot in the 1970s.

Thousands took part and millions took pride in Eugene McCarthy's 1968 challenge to President Johnson over Vietnam and its domestic fallout. For those who still respect and even revere the former Minnesota senator, there was little cause for rejoicing yesterday when he resurfaced as the presidential candidate of the small, Philadelphia-based Consumer Party. It was sad to see Mr. McCarthy, 20 years after he made history, returning to the hustings to tout ideas that add little to the political dialogue.

Pardon me, but the idea of nominating Katharine Hepburn for the Grammy in the spoken-word category for Me: Stories of My Life is enough to make a reviewer a touch suspicious of the criteria used. I suppose the tape (Random House Audio, three hours, abridged, $16) is sufficiently entertaining if you don't mind her wheezing delivery. But best of the year? Forget it. Celebrity status, however, apparently has its benefits when it comes time to select Grammy nominees. For example, Charles Kuralt and Ken Burns are celebrities, too. Kuralt, the CBS newsman with the ever-so-human touch, is a deserving nominee for his wonderful A Life on the Road (Simon & Schuster, three hours, abridged, $15.95)

Gov. Ridge's nominee to replace Ernie Preate Jr. as state attorney general is headed into a mix of legislative and political issues that could make or break his confirmation. At the moment, it looks more break than make. Facing two-thirds Senate approval in a political atmosphere best described as contentious, Pittsburgh lawyer Thomas W. Corbett Jr. was in the Capitol yesterday lobbying senators for support. A tentative hearing on Corbett's nomination is scheduled tomorrow.