SENATOR Bob Dole may have secured his nomination as Republican presidential candidate, and Mr Ross Perot may be about to join the race for the White House, but it is an after dinner political monologue by "Imus" which has Washington in an uproar.
Mr Don Imus is a radio "shock jock". In his morning nationwide radio programme, the hollowcheeked talk show host likes to shock listeners with irreverent comments about people in the news.
On Thursday evening, the New York broadcaster paralysed the President and First Lady, and several hundred guests, with a speech which breached an almost sacred rule in the cosy relationship between politicians and the media in the US singe but do not burn.
Mr and Mrs Clinton were sitting only feet away at the Radio and Television Correspondents' Association Dinner when Mr Imus launched into a series of raunchy jokes about the unseemliest elements of Whitewater and Mr Clinton's personal life.
At first they laughed at Mr Imus's performance, such as his "discovery" of a lost Whitewater memo in his script. But their smiles froze as he wondered aloud which member of the Clinton family would be the first to be prosecuted and jailed over Whitewater.
The "shock jock" who cultivates an unruly mop of hair suggested a bumper slogan for the 1996 campaign "Clinton Gore Four More, or Five to Ten" (a five to 10 year prison term).
The White House spokesman, Mr Mike McCurry, asked CSPAN not to repeat the "tasteless" monologue at the weekend. The television channel refused. The organisers of the dinner apologised to the First Couple for "having to endure embarrassment".
Mr McCurry said the President found it painful and what really got to him were the comments about other people like the news anchorman, Peter Jennings. Mr Imus said a V chip should be placed in Mr Jennings's shorts and suggested that he was receiving oral sex while reading the news. Mrs Clinton was heard to say aloud to this: "Oh, my".
If the President had had a gun "he'd a shot me," Mr Imus told the New York Times yesterday. He said he had in fact watered down his delivery and had planned to joke about how the President could combat charges of womanising by becoming a Mormon and that if there were four or five first ladies, the US was bound to like one of them.
The episode highlighted the image problems which continue to dog the Clintons.
A new Washington Post ABC poll shows that half of Americans believe Mrs Hillary Rodham Clinton broke the law over Whitewater. A new book on Whitewater by a respected author portrays the Clintons in an unsympathetic light.
Yesterday the President's wife began a tour of US military bases in Bosnia which White House officials hope will show her in a more positive light.
The character question is expected to dominate the coming election campaign. Having acquired enough delegates in Thursday's primaries to win the Republican nomination, Mr Dole (72) has begun attacking Mr Clinton at every opportunity.
At San Quentin prison which houses California's death row he accused the President on Saturday of vetoing bills three times to speed up executions.
The presidential veto was in fact used only once. Tomorrow Californian voters will choose 143 delegates for the San Diego Republican convention in August.
Mr Dole's only remaining rival, the commentator Mr Pat Buchanan, dismissed speculation that he would run as a third party candidate. He said he hoped to rebuild the Republican party to reflect his conservative, isolationist views.
Mr Ross Perot said on Friday that the two major US parties could not keep his fledgling Reform Party from running a presidential candidate. He remained coy, however, as to whether it would be him.
