SHORT TAKES : Donahue Puts Off Senate Bid

Amid speculation that he is ready to quit television to run for the U.S. Senate, Phil Donahue says don’t count on it--yet.

“I’m obliged to do the show until 1992, so any political plans I might make would not go into effect until the 1994 elections,” the talk show host said in the June 9 issue of TV Guide. “I’m really very undecided at this time.”

The 23-year TV veteran, a Democrat, said he wonders “how electable I’d be in the age of ‘read my lips.’ I’m pro-choice. I support gay rights. I think the invasion of Panama was a bad idea, and I think we ought to be able to burn the flag.”