Bill Clinton should think twice about forcing his family life down the throats of the American people. And Robin Cook should be more circumspect about 'ethical foreign policy'. If politicians will insist on reducing politics to a morality play about personal behaviour, they should expect that their own personal behaviour will come under scrutiny. The one piece of good news from America is that the American public are wholly unmoved by the latest scandal, and the President's poll-ratings how no lasting surge of feeling against him. Indeed the latest polls show Clinton's support running at around 72 per cent - about what Reagan achieved in his heyday.
Newsmen take note.
Your prurience is not necessarily shared by the public. In particular the Republican Party failed to make any hay while Monica Lewinsky's sun was shining. Looking at the near-paralysis of the right in the face of the new style of politics promoted by Clinton and Blair, that is not surprising. In the lead-up to the Paula Jones hearings American spies known as 'weapons inspectors' provoked a fresh confrontation with Iraqi Premier Saddam Hussein. Robin Cook pledged British support for any American action against Saddam, while the other members of the UN Security Council balked at a renewed conflict.