From a New Jersey diner to a Texas store, from a Miami hotel lobby to a Tulsa shopping centre, Americans have greeted the story of President Clinton's alleged affair with Monica Lewinsky as something more serious than the widely circulated reports about previous presidential paramours.

Men and women across the country said they shrugged off the first reports about Lewinsky, inured over the past six years to charges that the President has had extramarital affairs.

But as news of an alleged attempt to arrange a cover-up sank in, along with news of Clinton's reported admission of an earlier sexual liaison with Gennifer Flowers - which he had denied on national television - they became intensely interested.

"It's not just Zippergate this time," said John Luizzi, a business consultant from Livingston, New Jersey. . "If she [Lewinsky] is real, he's gone because he tried to obstruct justice. This proves it: he's a bad dude."

"He hoodwinked the American public - that's all my clients talked about this morning," said his lunch companion, Robert Stalb, a corporate insurance broker, referring to the Flowers report. "Now you don't know which of his denials are true. Was Ron Brown's plane crash really an accident? Did Vince Foster really commit suicide? He betrayed America. He can't be trusted."

Most of those interviewed appeared uncertain where the latest charges will or should lead, saying they do not yet know enough of the story. And a significant minority said they do not believe the allegations, attributing them to a conspiracy by Clinton's enemies.

Concerns over the Lewinsky story went beyond the allegation of a sexual dalliance, or even of a criminal cover-up. Men and women alike cited her youth, 21 at the time she and Clinton allegedly became involved. "He's got a child almost the same age," said George Singer, a self-described liberal Democrat who runs an oil and gas business in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

They also expressed concern at the allegation that this relationship unfolded during the here and now of Clinton's Presidency, rather than during his governorship of Arkansas, as in the cases of Flowers and Paula Jones.

"I think it's ridiculous that the President of the United States sets an example like that for the young people to read about," said Frances Teggeman, co-owner of a billiard supplies company in Austin, Texas. "How can you respect a President if all this is true?"

But the reactions also revealed deep cynicism toward the political system among people in every region of the country. Some of those interviewed said they believe Republicans have orchestrated, if not wholly concocted, the Lewinsky story. If Clinton is guilty of a cover-up, these people said, he will be unusual among public officials only in that he was caught.

"I believe it's all a Republican conspiracy," said Kelly Mattiola of Philadelphia.

"I have a manicuring shop and on top of my television I have a picture of Bill Clinton and me, cheek to cheek," she explained. "I had it done in Washington DC. Somebody did it on the street, superimposing his picture on mine. You can do anything with photographs and tapes. I could take that picture and wave it in front of a TV camera today and I could be the next Paula Jones."

Mattiola said she considers it a waste of time to worry about the morals of people in high public office. "As long as I can afford my car insurance and my health insurance, he can date anyone he wants," she said of Clinton.

If Americans had been on the verge of becoming inured to reports about Clinton's alleged dalliances, many shifted course with the latest set of accusations.

Apart from the allegations of a cover-up, however, many people appeared uninterested in the private lives of public figures, even the President.

"It staggers me that everybody has spent the whole day talking about the President and what he does with his penis," said Tomilee Edmonson, a dog groomer from Austin. "It has taken away from the Pope's visit to Cuba. I would rather have listened to that today."

In Miami, where the papal visit did overshadow news of Clinton and Lewinsky, six of 12 people interviewed at random said they had no opinion on the reports, and most were deeply sceptical that the whole truth would ever be known.

"You'd almost have to have a video of President Clinton shooting someone for something to come of it," said Karri Simpson (26), a Miami legal secretary.

In Santa Monica, California, politics was no competition for football, as televisions remained resolutely tuned to sport. "Hormones are hormones," said Frank Alvarez. "Personally I don't hold it against him."

A poll by CNN, USA Today and Gallup found that 7 per cent of people thought Clinton "definitely" had an affair with Lewinsky and 47 per cent believe he "probably" did, for a total of 54 per cent.

"This is impeachment," declared a well-dressed man on a crowded New York subway. "Don't jump to conclusions," called another well-dressed man across the car. "He did it," interjected a homeless man carrying a bag of clothes.