President Clinton kept a smile on his face yesterday as he was relentlessly questioned on the Monicagate scandal at his crowded White House news conference with the British Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair.
He steadfastly refused to succumb to the blandishments of American reporters to expand on the so-called "Fornigate" affair, as Mr Blair gave his personal backing to the President.
Mr Clinton appeared determined not to subject the Prime Minister to the embarrassing fate that befell the Palestinian President, Mr Yasser Arafat, at a similar event earlier this month.
On that occasion the American reporters ignored the Palestinian leader - who was reduced to sitting there twiddling his thumbs - while Mr Clinton faced a volley of questions about Ms Monica Lewinsky.
Yesterday, Mr Blair, who was also interrogated about politicians' private lives, played a full and robust part in the exchanges which were conducted in a far sunnier atmosphere than when the subject is raised at Westminster.
In the Commons, Mr Blair snarls at those who raise the issue of the Foreign Secretary, Mr Robin Cook, and his partner and denounces the Tories as a "useless and pathetic" Opposition.
But yesterday he was all sweetness and light, stressing that what politicians had to focus on was "the big picture" and doing what the people had elected them to do.
Mr Clinton, even when faced with the most ferocious questions (like, "have you considered resigning over this?"), retained his good humour throughout.
But the reporters, to a large extent, left empty-handed. The President's big smile was accompanied by a Trappist-like tendency to add nothing to the sum of human knowledge on this subject.
Of the 16 questions asked of the two leaders, 10 were on the sex allegations against the President, five on Iraq, and one on the deaths of 20 people who fell 300 feet in the Dolomites this week when an American military aircraft sliced through the steel wire supporting a cable-car carrying skiers.
The President handled those relating to his personal life with aplomb, without visible malice and also without a speck of perspiration appearing on his brow.
He had "never" considered resigning on this issue. And when asked what he would say now to Monica Lewinsky, he twice said, apparently complimenting the questioner: "That's good . . ." before adding, to crestfallen looks from his audience: "I am going to stick with my position and not comment."
The President made the point that the investigation was going on, that he was co-operating with it and that the judge had "given us strict orders not to discuss anything".
And he added righteously: "The other side has violated that in a number of cases. I am not going to do that."
The President also got a laugh when he was asked about Hillary Clinton's remark about a "conspiracy working against him".
He said: "She is very smart and she is hardly ever wrong. But I don't believe I should amplify on her observations . . ."