Inside Report (2)

Look to the West for the Next national chairman of the Democratic Party. Insiders say Charles T. Manatt, a successful corporate lawyer in Los Angeles, may well be tapped for the post.

Manatt, currently chairman of the party's national finance council, has served as its Western regional chairman and has been considered twice before for national chairman.

The other most frequently mentioned contender is Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton, who lost his reelection bid last Nov. 4.

One insider rates the likelihood of Manatt's succeeding current party chairman John White as "60 percent and growing."m