Ireland is a small, albeit an important, link in the political chain now enveloping President Clinton. His visit here was exemplary in its political substance and confirmed the sure touch he continues to demonstrate on the Northern Ireland peace process.
He paid extraordinary tributes to its achievements and other aspects of contemporary Irish life. But his encomia were overshadowed by the rapidly developing Monica Lewinsky scandal, most notably the apparent loss of confidence among Democratic congressmen as they await the report from Mr Kenneth Starr, the special investigator, and head into November elections. As a result, on his return to Washington, Mr Clinton faces the gravest political crisis of his career.
After the popular enthusiasm and good judgment displayed in Ireland, it can be hard from this perspective to credit the seriousness of Mr Clinton's present difficulties. They flow, indeed, from very different aspects of his political persona to those which we in Ireland have come to expect from him. It is important to understand this, irrespective of the view that many people hold - that the affair has been blown out of proportion by his political opponents and a prurient media.
Thus the sheer recklessness of his affair with Ms Lewinsky is the more culpable for making him so vulnerable in an atmosphere of endlessly personalised politics and a media increasingly driven by entertainment values. That a man who has exploited politics so skilfully, should fall prey in this way, is ironic indeed - and dangerous for the dignity and authority of the office he holds.
More important, and putting him in greater jeopardy, is the evidence - and the growing suspicion among his own supporters - that he misled citizens, colleagues and family alike when given an opportunity to square the account and clear his name. His successive approximations to the truth, apparent reluctance to apologise outright until under real pressure, and now the possibility that he may have tried to prevent evidence emerging, have all created a crisis of confidence in his own party. It will take all his political skills to overcome it and convince his critics that his remaining period in office can be authoritative and effective. Shrewd observers believe he may not survive, but it should also be remembered that he is at his political best in adversity and that it may not suit his opponents to press home their case against him.
Nor should anyone overlook the sheer accumulation of international problems which could benefit from the political intelligence President Clinton has displayed on Ireland. In Armagh and Limerick he paid eloquent tribute to the peace process as a model for other ethnic conflicts around the world. In addition to these, there are serious structural problems involving the world economy, Russia's reform programme and the emergence of new paramilitary challenges involving narcotics and crime syndicates. The US has a vital role to play in resolving them, both to express its own interests and to help orchestrate an international response. It is very much to be hoped that President Clinton's crisis can be resolved quickly, so that these questions are effectively addressed.