Durenberger's Comedown . . .

By MARGARET CARLSON WASHINGTON

The disintegration of a public man entered its final stages last week when the Senate ethics committee recommended that the full Senate publicly denounce Minnesota Republican David Durenberger, 55, who occupies the seat once held by Hubert Humphrey and at one time looked as though he might be worthy of it. The panel's three Democrats and three Republicans accused the Senator of knowingly engaging in reprehensible conduct that was "clearly and unequivocally unethical." They also recommended that Durenberger be required to pay to charity the $95,000 he received in excess of allowable speaking fees and another $29,000 he pocketed by charging the government rent for staying in a . Minneapolis condominium that he owned. Only expulsion, which the ethics committee last recommended in 1981 for New Jersey Democrat Harrison Williams for his part in the Abscam scandal, would have been more severe.

After the verdict, Durenberger, his face creased by grief, declared, "I am sorry," and promised to give back the money as a "tangible sign of regret." At the same time, he pledged to spend the remaining four years of his current term "being the best Senator I can," showing that he may not yet grasp the gravity of his offenses. While the Senate Republican Conference could have stripped Durenberger of seniority rights and committee assignments, chairman John Chafee is reluctant to do so.

But Minnesotans may demand more of a man they voted to high office than a simple act of contrition and a refund. Bill Morris, former chairman of the state's Independent-Republican party, summed up the dismay: "I think Minnesota now has 1 1/2 Senators . . . I think most of us voted for him to serve millions -- not make them." Some G.O.P. officials are urging Durenberger to step down by July 31 so that a special election could be held in November. Durenberger could then seek a vote of confidence by running in that race.

Durenberger's golden life began to unravel in 1970, when his first wife died of cancer at 31. With four sons to raise, the eldest only seven, he remarried within a year. Two of his sons developed drug problems, and in 1985 he and his wife temporarily separated and he sought solace in a Christian retreat in a Washington suburb. Rumors that he was having an affair with a 28-year-old secretary were exacerbated when a woman he was with at National Airport screamed that Durenberger had "ruined" her life and knocked him to the floor with her purse. After that incident, Durenberger began giving interviews in Phil Donahue-speak, complaining that he was going through a mid-life crisis and did not love himself enough.

Like so many who breathe the intoxicating air of power, Durenberger thought he could get away with bending the rules. Limits on speaking fees? Launder the money by counting excess payments as book-promotion fees. Trips to a marriage counselor in Boston too expensive? Arrange business lunches and collect honorariums. Need some extra income? Bill the government rent for staying in a condominium you own. Not until after the committee issued its recommendation did Durenberger concede that "I have made serious mistakes. I acknowledge them and accept full responsibility."

Before its Aug. 3 recess, the full Senate is almost certain to follow the ethics committee recommendation and denounce Durenberger for bringing the chamber into "dishonor and disrepute." Durenberger may feel that by enduring a moment of shame and making restitution he puts things right with the world and deserves to retain a place of honor in it. If so, he is ignoring an elementary principle of political morality: those who make the laws are not above them.

With reporting by Barbara Dolan/Chicago and Hays Gorey/Washington