The partial shutdown of the United States government is three weeks old today. The inability of Congress and the White House to reach agreement on a budget started out as an inconvenience and an embarrassment but now the scars are running deep. Across the country, people are enduring real hardship and vital services are being disrupted. At the same time, American diplomatic missions have been pushed into insolvency turmoil. Visa and passport applications are piling up amid threats, because of unpaid bills, to water and electricity supplies.
This impasse now goes far beyond mere embarrassment. Over a quarter of a million employees have been sent home while a further half million are working without pay. Unemployment benefits are running out in some states, meals on wheels and hospital food are under threat and environmental work - such as cleaning up toxic waste has been halted. Americans are not amused that Congress continues to pay its own salaries and, in some cases, go on foreign trips. Neither are they amused that with so many government departments affected, the Internal Revenue Service continues to function fully.
What is at issue is the Republican Party's demand that the US Government should stop borrowing money each year to finance its activities. What the party requires is that the budget be balanced as between income and expenditure within the next seven years. President Clinton, along with practically all Americans, has no objection to balancing the budget in principle. How the budget gets balanced is the issue.
In essence, the Republicans argue that there will have to be sizeable increases in health insurance premiums for pensioners. Mr Clinton might go along with modest increases. The Republicans also insist on cuts in welfare programmes as well as educational and, environmental spending while at the same time aspiring to simultaneous tax cuts of $245 billion. Mr Clinton least of all in an election year cannot countenance deep cuts in programmes which are admittedly very expensive but which are also highly popular.
The impasse is a public relations disaster for the Republican Party. It has allowed Mr Clinton, with some justification, to portray himself as the defender of popular programmes against the "cynical political strategy" of the Republicans. The problem wouldn't be so severe for the Republicans if they were not publicly divided on the issue. Their members in the Senate voted to reopen government only to find that their colleagues in the House of Representatives would have none of it. The Senate is led by presidential hopeful Bob Dole who clearly recognises the damage being done to his candidacy. The House is led by Mr Newt Gingrich who is quite unconcerned about Mr Dole's prospects and is being guided by the newest Republican members who consider their own re election of less consequence than balancing the budget and reducing government numbers. These items constitute the Holy Grail.
If the Republicans really want to give Mr Clinton a run for his money in November, they had better start showing greater unity of purpose. They could make a start by deciding who is in charge. But the way things are, they may still be divided even after the convention has chosen their candidate for the White House.