200 YEARS OF RUMOR, INNUENDO AND POLITICS; LURID TALES ABOUT CHEATING, DRINKING NOTHING NEW IN U.S.

Byline: Joyce Irvine Special to the Daily News

``Scorpion Tongues''

by Gail Collins

(309 pages, publisher; $25)

Our rating: Three and One Half Stars

What could be more irresistible than an entire book about gossip? Even those of us who consider ourselves too high-minded for such titillating trifles would find it difficult not to take just a peek. That the book is also about politics and history somehow makes it more worthy and validates our interest. Once opened, the book is indeed hard to put down.

In ``Scorpion Tongues'' Gail Collins takes us on a fascinating guided tour through American history, via the rumors and malicious stories that have dogged politicians during the last 200 years. While we may deplore many of the ridiculous stories put about by cheap magazines and tabloid newspapers, it is interesting to notice that none of this is new. It is as old an activity as humankind itself to spread and enjoy all sorts of personal stories and rumors about prominent people. It was apparently a favorite occupation in both Greek and Roman times to attack politicians in this way.

However, as Collins states, it is easy to start a story, but why do some stories catch the imagination and endure, whether true or not? Her theory, and it seems perfectly plausible, is that the stories which stick and spread with accelerated momentum usually indicate something about the national mood or current anxiety and perhaps, even if not true, reflect something real about the target.

Gossip adapts itself to the changing mores of society. The attitude toward alcohol is a prime example of this. In some periods, the American public has shown great tolerance for alcohol but in others it has become fastidiously abstinent. Pity the president like Theodore Roosevelt, who as a modest social drinker in a time of temperance was vilified as a drunkard. In sexual matters, the same thing applies. President Kennedy's sexual indiscretions, now known to be legion, were ignored, while President Clinton is not afforded the same generosity.

Rumors about homosexuality did not begin to surface until quite recently, as for a long time it was regarded as too awful to talk about.

The author divides American history roughly into three eras. The first was the era of the Founding Fathers, which ran on for most of the 19th century. People were patriotic but irreverent, and gossip flourished during this time. At roughly the turn of the century a new era began, in which people were largely disinterested in politics. There was a burgeoning prosperity, and radio, baseball and, eventually, TV all vied for their attention. Although rumors may have been whispered, there was not a great appetite for them and they were not printed by the newspapers.

In the '70s, things changed again. The disillusionment of the Vietnam War and the scandal of Watergate provoked a different climate of opinion, and a certain political cynicism was felt nationally. The new role of television in the promotion of politicians' careers helped to break down all barriers of restraint. The growth of entertainment celebrities and their intermingling with politicians also helped to create a layer of society that came to be regarded as ``fair game.''

``Scorpion Tongues'' is full of interesting accounts of gossip throughout these periods. The scandal of Andrew Jackson's marriage to a divorced woman obsessed people in the early 19th century. Eleanor and Franklin Roosevelt suffered from stories of her drinking. Sometimes womanizing presidents were tolerated, sometimes not.

A change has, of course, occurred in the last 20 years. TV has become an area of ``anything goes,'' so the scandal magazines have had to go further to garner an audience. Add to this the emergence of the Internet and we see that the market for gossip about celebrities and politicians and the speed at which it travels is at an unprecedented level. Where will it all end? Are there any rules left?

Collins is not in the market for predictions, but she has produced a fascinating book, both entertaining and informative.

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Photo: The press looked the other way at President Kennedy's indiscretions.