SWING AND A MISS

President Clinton took his best shot at solving the baseball strike. It

didn't work. Not even presidential prodding at a late-night White House

session could overcome the stubborn short-sightedness of the owners and

players.

Now, the president wants to take the campaign one step farther, to

Congress. He's asking for the creation of a three-member panel of independent

arbitrators to settle the strike.

While some presidential jawboning is one thing, involving Congress is

another. It's hard to make the case that whether Barry Bonds or your cousin

Fred plays left field for the Giants should be an issue for formal

congressional action.

And that's what this mess is boiling down to. Strike or no strike, the game

will go on. But if the strike continues, the teams are likely to be made up of

imitation big leaguers.

You might say that would give the National Pastime a black eye, if the

players and owners hadn't blackened both already.

House Speaker Newt Gingrich has called congressional intervention ''a very

bad idea.'' So, expect a partisan squabble about a proposal to solve a labor

dispute. That's not promising.

Unfortunately, only the people who have the most to gain -- the players and

owners -- can settle this strike. And they won't.