WASHINGTON, 30 August — “Chat with Bill?” “Clinton Speaks?” “Clinton’s Last Word?”

Clear the airwaves, folks. William Jefferson Clinton, our former president, is rumored to be negotiating for his very own talk show. At least, that’s the latest word from M Street Daily, a news and ratings publication faxed or read on-line daily by over 10,000 radio insiders.

“Is a major syndicator wooing Bill Clinton?” the brief item states, along with a photo of the grinning former president. “The radio syndication deal would reportedly be for a short-form show, not a long-form ‘talk show’ that proved so deadly for would-be radio stars like former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo.”

“He’s not going to be the next Rush Limbaugh.  Short-format means a simple two to five minute commentary, ideal for politicians. Ted Kennedy did it, so did Newt Gingrich,” Michael Harrison of Talkers Magazine, another radio industry publication, told journalists yesterday.

“But if Clinton is going to go live and take calls and interview people, that would be a big deal. That would get buzz,” Harrison said.

The former president has yet to comment.  The press found him shopping on Monday in Rio de Janeiro’s Blue Man beach boutique, with actor Anthony Hopkins, where he bought $113 worth of bikinis and sarongs.

“It was not immediately clear who he was shopping for,” noted the Associated Press.

Clinton told an audience in S?o Paulo on Tuesday that a US law limiting him to two terms was reasonable but that he still regretted giving up the job after just eight years.

“I would have liked being president forever, because I love the job,” Clinton, who served from 1993 until January 20, told an audience of some 400 Brazilian college students.

The former president deflected a question on whether he would return to the White House through his wife, New York Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, who some observers believe also has presidential ambitions.

“My wife has just been elected (in November 2000). She has been doing a great job. I’m very proud of her,” he said. “I believe just now her main concern must be doing her job as a senator.”

The possibility of a Clinton show has been a hot subject in Clinton’s search for a post-White House identity.

Earlier this year, his attorney Robert Barnett said he “received many, many offers for media projects, to host his own show or be a commentator.”

Last May, former CNN executive Reese Schonfeld suggested the cable channel hire Clinton and “triple ratings.” NCB also offered the former president a weekly talk show in December; even suggesting it could be produced by the president’s longtime friend Harry Thomason, who also happens to be a TV producer.

One thing is certain.  A commentary-style talk show for Clinton does not seem to be on the drawing board.

“A dry commentary is not a big deal these days,” said Harrison of Talkers Magazine.

“Clinton had a lot of practice doing short-format radio when he did his weekly radio address. Now how many people stopped what they were doing to listen to that?”