WASHINGTON — The scene is an early morning staff meeting at the 1992 Democratic National Convention, where a throng of Clinton campaign aides are debating, at mind-numbing length, the relative merits of printed and hand-lettered signs, of white-on-red ones versus blue-on-white ones.

At one end of the table, Harold M. Ickes is pacing, opening and closing his eyes with the look of a man in the grip of an excruciating headache. Finally, he raises his arm to order silence.

"This may not be the greatest policy issue this group will ever decide," he snaps. "But let's get a decision."

This snippet, from the documentary film "The War Room," offers a glimpse of the style of the labor lawyer and veteran Democrat who joined the White House last month to manage the Administration's centerpiece health reform program. With long campaign experience and legendary bluntness, Ickes is charged with plotting tactics, cobbling a political alliance and maintaining order among the two dozen-odd White House staff members who spend most of their time on the massive project.

"He doesn't tolerate ineptitude or sloppiness," said Jack Quinn, Vice President Al Gore's chief of staff.

Ickes' mission recently has been broadened to include supervision of the White House efforts to minimize losses in the mid-year elections. Some insiders are predicting that even wider influence lies ahead for the 54-year-old Ickes at the White House--provided, of course, all goes smoothly with health reform.

The son of Harold L. Ickes, longtime Interior secretary to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Ickes' assets include strong personal ties to President Clinton, whom he met in 1972. The bonds were strengthened in 1992 when Ickes helped guide a battle-scarred Clinton through the pivotal New York primary, ran the Democratic Convention and put in dutiful service in the White House transition.

Ickes has been unafraid to disagree forcefully with Hillary Rodham Clinton--a habit that is somewhat rare in the White House but one that the First Lady apparently likes. "I give her my candid advice," he said mildly.

Also on his side is Thomas (Mack) McLarty, whose regard for Ickes' skills was evident when, on the day of Ickes' arrival, he asked the New Yorker to temporarily oversee handling of developments in the Whitewater land deal.