Newspapers across Europe are proclaiming the grim news: the United States has become so distracted with the allegations against President Bill Clinton that foreign affairs are bound to suffer.

According to the New York Times, many political watchers around the world say the president’s embarrassment concerning his alleged affair with a White House intern will leave a permanent scar on Clinton’s stature at home and abroad.

“Clinton might manage to save his job, but politically he’s finished already. As a weak president at home, he will also lose influence abroad,” said an article in the Frankfurter Rundschua, a German newspaper.

Many European heads of state are now unsure that U.S. leadership will be effective because of Clinton’s obvious lack of influence, according to the Times.

The United States took command late last year when Asian financial and stock markets spiraled out of control.

But because improvement operations are being organized through the International Monetary Fund, Clinton must convince Congress to authorize the money to help the region with its mounting deficit.

Another legitimate concern is that a distracted or weakened president can be exploited and will have his authority challenged when dealing with the developing situation in Iraq.

Furthermore, Clinton was unable to convince Israelis two weeks ago to meet their obligations with further military pullbacks from the West Bank.

The Washington Post took a pessimistic view of the situation.

“This week he is even less capable, if only because his own party, not to mention the Republicans, will not support a policy of greater pressure on Israel,” it said.

Another concern is the political “macho theory,” which says the president might seek to deflect attention from his personal scandal by launching an early military strike on Iraq. This also would punish dictator Saddam Hussein for stonewalling on the UN inspections of stock-piled weapons of destruction.

Dutch Foreign minister Hans van Mierlo discounted this theory, saying, “There is absolutely no reason to think that, you cannot link these two issues.”

How many times can President Clinton weather these types of accusations of sexual misconduct and still maintain his ability to effectively represent America on foreign soil?

As the leader of the only superpower, he has an obligation to become involved in all foreign affairs that will directly effect America’s population, economics and safety. As a weak president at home, he lacks that ability to motivate congress and other sections of the American political system.

Traditionally, presidents planning to run for a second term are more inclined to use military conflicts to divert attention away from their personal misconduct. They also use the military conflicts as a soap box to ensure the possibility of their re-election.

Not having to worry about running again obviously has affected Clinton, as seen from his lassiez-faire attitude to recent accusations and his general conduct.

Clinton last week assured the American population that he would not be distracted by his personal situation when considering the action America will take in dealing with Iraq.

Further reports released late last week tell us Iraqi high school and college students have been moved into military training to prepare for an impending conflict. Obviously, Saddam Hussein has no intention of backing down.