CABINET SHUFFLE ON HOLD AS CLINTON SORTS OUT OPTIONS.

Byline: Alison Mitchell The New York Times

After weeks of deliberations on what the White House termed President Clinton's ``first and most urgent task'' after re-election, the president is still wrestling with choices for his national security team in a process that has left his own government on edge and even drawn the attention of foreign capitals.

Officials now say Madeleine Albright, the U.S. representative to the United Nations, is the leading candidate to replace Secretary of State Warren Christopher, an appointment that would make her the first woman to serve as the nation's chief diplomat. But in a highly unsettled climate, with Clinton continuing to mull his options, even some of Albright's supporters were still nervous about her chances late Wednesday.

The White House had originally created the expectation that Clinton would select a new secretary of state quickly after his re-election. On Nov. 7, two days after the election, the president was the host at a White House retirement ceremony for Christopher, who is 71.

But one Clinton adviser said the selections had become a ``tormenting process'' for Clinton as he has tried to focus not just on individuals but also on his entire national security team.

``It's a puzzle that has to move together,'' another official said.

As the weeks have passed without a decision by the president, candidates have risen only to fall in a manner reminiscent of Clinton's 1992 transition and proving that axiom of politics that front-runner is on a dangerous perch.

George Mitchell, the former Senate Democratic leader from Maine, was originally considered the president's top choice for secretary of state. He was the president's special envoy to Irish peace talks. But Mitchell's luster diminished after Republicans in Congress let it be known that they had viewed him as an exceptionally partisan majority leader and would not make life easy for him, officials said.

Richard Holbrooke, the former assistant secretary of state who negotiated the Bosnia peace accords in Dayton, Ohio, then surged. But his forceful personality has brought him as many enemies as friends, and officials say he is considered someone who has a potential for both brilliance and unending controversy. But one official said he nonetheless remains a contender for the post.

Three weeks ago, Clinton was poised to name William Cohen, the retiring Republican senator from Maine, as his secretary of defense - an appointment that would have signaled his commitment to put Republicans in the administration.

But he held back and officials say now that John Deutch, the director of central intelligence, might yet replace departing Defense Secretary William Perry. Deutch is also considered a possible choice for energy secretary.

Officials said the one move that seemed nearly set was that Anthony Lake, the president's national security adviser, would become CIA director and would be replaced at the White House by his deputy, Samuel Berger - a possibility reported by some newspapers Wednesday.

As of early evening, after the president had had two sets of meetings with Vice President Al Gore, Leon Panetta, who is stepping down as White House chief of staff, and his successor, Erskine Bowles, sandwiched around a round of golf, the White House press secretary, Michael McCurry, said Clinton had not settled on a team.

``The president had a good day of deliberations,'' he said. ``He intends to resume work on these matters. We have no announcements scheduled.''

The long decision-making process - increasingly reminiscent of Clinton's 1992 transition, when candidates for major posts rose and fell - has had senior administration officials on tenterhooks.

Candidates for other Cabinet posts are piling up, and even foreign capitals have been caught up in the guessing game over the selection of the crucial Cabinet members who will help shape foreign policy in the second term.

British DefenseR Minister Michael Portillo inadvertently caused a flurry Wednesday when onlookers overheard him whispering to Prime Minister John Major at a conference on Bosnia in London that Albright would be the next secretary of state.