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PRESIDENT CLINTON'S decision to delay his visit to Greece in the face of anti-American protests has compounded the impression of a presidency stumbling rather than striding into its final lap.
Just two days before Mr Clinton was due to depart, American officials announced that he would postpone his trip to Athens until the end of his 11-day European tour and shorten it to only 22 hours amid concerns about security and inadequate anti-terrorist measures.
The President has never changed his travel plans at such a late date and the last-minute rearrangement has caused embarrassment to Athens and Washington.
The US Administration said the delay was requested by the Greek Government, but, privately, US officials conceded that the scale of anti-American feeling in Greece in the wake of the Kosovo conflict had been misjudged badly.
For several days violent demonstrations have been staged in Athens, including a mock trial of Mr Clinton. Last weekend gunmen fired at the empty American Cultural Centre and a bomb was detonated at a Levis jeans outlet. A huge demonstration against the Nato bombardment of Yugoslavia was planned for tomorrow.
The misreading of the Greek situation and the subsequent juggling of his schedule will be galling for Mr Clinton who, after the humiliating defeat of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, has set his mind to foreign policy with renewed zeal, determined to leave a lasting legacy in international affairs.
James Rubin, the State Department spokesman, defended the US handling of the situation. "It would be a grave error to dismiss security concerns and then potentially have a disaster on our hands," he said. Referring to the Greek response to terrorism, Mr Rubin said: "Obviously, we are not satisfied. We think more needs to be done."
Mr Clinton, however, said he was not worried for his own safety in Greece. "I'm not concerned at all," he told reporters, adding that the protests were equally untroubling: "I'm not bothered about it."
Instead of spending two days in Greece before going on to the summit in Turkey of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, Mr Clinton will now spend a day in Athens on November 19, two days after the politically loaded date of November 17, the anniversary of the bloody 1973 repression of a leftist student uprising by the US-supported Greek military junta.
Since 1975 the "November 17" terrorist group has killed 22 people, including the CIA station chief and three other Americans.
Mr Clinton's European tour is scheduled to take in Italy and Bulgaria, and officials said he may also make a brief stop in Kosovo.