End of the ordeal

Now that the 13-month Clinton impeachment drama is over, the vast majority of Americans can breathe a sigh of relief, the administration in Washington can get back to running the affairs of the country, as much as postimpeachment conditions allow, and the rest of the world can be assured that America is able once again to focus its attention beyond its own borders.

There is little doubt that Americans in general welcome the end of the ordeal. Some 65 percent of Americans surveyed by the Los Angeles Times, for example, believed the Senate was right to acquit Clinton, while a mere 30 percent believed the president should have been removed from office.

Also indicative of the prevailing mood among Americans is Clinton's 68 percent approval rating. Considering Clinton's political and administrative skills, Americans seem willing to forgive what most of them regard as personal indiscretions and overlook the fact that he lied under oath and persisted in withholding the truth during months of investigation.

Many governments around the world, too, must be relieved by Clinton's acquittal. Since the beginning of the sex scandal that led to the impeachment trial, political leaders and analysts in many countries expressed fears that the whole exhausting procedure would prevent the United States -- the world's only remaining superpower -- from paying due attention to global affairs, with possibly disastrous effects.

For many Indonesians, though -- and perhaps for many people throughout Asia -- it is difficult to shed the impression that despite all the charges and countercharges revolving around the issues of truth and morality, the whole affair was in reality little more than high-minded camouflage for what was in essence a common political tug-of-war between Republicans and Democrats in the American Senate and House of Representatives.

Thus, while the fact that the Clinton administration can more or less get back to business as usual is welcome news to many, the disagreeable possibility that the extended and bitter affair tarnished Washington's moral and political credibility cannot be simply discounted. What this could amount to, after all, is an erosion of American leadership in those parts of the world where it is needed most. The effects of such a leadership vacuum are unknown and more than a bit frightening.

In the meantime, many Indonesians are left to wonder -- with considerable amusement, no doubt -- about American values and politics. Even mustering all of their imaginative powers, it must be impossible for the average Indonesian to imagine one of their own leaders entangled in a situation as sexually and morally compromising as the one which led to President Clinton's recent troubles.

True, Indonesians' sexual mores are probably no different than other peoples, including Americans. However, picturing an Indonesian Monica Lewinsky stepping forward and exposing her partner and, in the process, herself exceeds the limits of Indonesians' imaginations.

In any case, though, it seems a safe assumption that like America, Indonesia is relieved that Clinton's impeachment ordeal has ended with only slight harm done to the American president's personal dignity.