For those who thought - and for those who hoped - that Bill Clinton would fade away gracefully in the final month of his administration, the departing president has firmly placed his thumb at the base of his nose and defiantly waggled his fingers:

Executive Order 12834 ...

''President Bill Clinton today called on his White House staff to uphold the highest possible ethical standards and to put the needs of the American people ahead of personal ambitions.'' That was the opening line from a White House news release announcing Executive Order 12834, issued on Jan. 20, 1993. The order prohibited: Senior appointees from lobbying any agency where they had served or which they had any responsibility for as a member of the White House staff; Engaging in any activity of behalf of any foreign government at any time after they leave government service; Representing any foreign government or corporation in any way within five years of being involved in a trade negotiation on behalf of the U.S. government. ''The ethics rules ... will guarantee that the members of this administration will be looking out for the American people and not for themselves,'' the president said. Personal ambition prevailed on Dec. 28; Clinton rescinded the order effective at noon this Jan. 20. The most unethical administration in presidential history will live for years to come.

. ... Gregory's appointment ...

The Clinton administration long has been bemoaning Congress's supposedly shameful failure to integrate the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. President Clinton ''fixed'' the problem last week by making the recess appointment of Roger Gregory, the fourth black to be proposed for this seat but the first to actually make it to the bench. As a recess appointment, Mr. Gregory, a corporate lawyer in Richmond, Va., will have to win Senate approval within one year or be bounced. And whether qualified or not, should a Senate, reluctant to fill a seat that it long has held doesn't need to be filled by anyone, reverse Gregory's appointment, Republicans will be called no less than racists and Clinton, among liberals at least, will be canonized for doing the ''right thing.'' Of course, with Gregory's ascension to the appellate bench comes this seldom-discussed nuance of Clintonian ''justice''-seeking: The seat Gregory will occupy has been vacant for 10 years ; Clinton had 8 years to effect a like recess appointment but did not do so until last month. So much for the liberal argument that it's those dastardly conservative Republicans, hell bent on keeping the 4th Circuit ''segregated,'' to blame. Much should be said, however, about Clinton's continuing penchant for partisanship of the worst opportunistic kind.

... the global court

In a New Year's Eve directive, and only hours before a new year deadline, the president ordered that the United States sign on to a treaty that creates the International Criminal Court to try war-crimes suspects. Mr. Clinton embraced the concord while admitting to its fundamental flaw: it could be used to routinely and frivolously prosecute American soldiers. Yet the president defended his order, saying it will give the United States a role in a tribunal that will be formed with or without American support and even if the Senate does not ratify the treaty. It's a poor excuse for what, in its present form, is nothing better than the ''international kangaroo court'' and ''unprecedented assault on American sovereignty'' that Sen. Jesse Helms rightly called it. Is this what Clinton meant when he said ''moral leadership'' in establishing principles of international law demanded that the United States join other nations in accepting the treaty•

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