Weighing in for Monicagate trial

MONICAGATE junkies never quite got the Monica Lewinsky-Linda Tripp standoff they were hoping for last week in a Maryland courtroom but that did not stop some of the nation's more prominent commentators drooling at the long-term prospects.

Ms Tripp wisely chose to stay at home and let her lawyers run her initial defence against possible state charges of illegal wire-tapping of her heart-to-heart conversations with Ms Lewinsky. The former White House intern says she never gave Ms Tripp permission to tape-record their phone conversations about Ms Lewinsky's relationship with President Bill Clinton.

The brief appearance of a newly svelte Ms Lewinsky to answer largely technical questions has nonetheless seen the prospect of a drawn-out trial turned into a battle of the diets. In intriguing reflection on modern American obsessions, little is being made of the scandal that brought the nation to this point or the charges looming ahead of Ms Tripp.

'This week's antics . . . played out like an episode of 'Celebrity Death Match',' wrote Andrea Peyser in the New York Post.

'Yes, the knock-down, drag out pairing of Monica and Tripp is finally under way. In one corner is Monica, down to her fighting weight - thanks to generous helpings on Jenny Craig cuisine and esteem-boosting psychotherapy. In the opposite corner is poor Linda. Even post-makeover she resembles mammoth actor John Goodman in a blonde wig.' Even the Washington Post - a far more hefty paper that would generally know better - weighed in with a bizarre waistline-obsessed feature yesterday headed 'Light fare from the trial'. The piece devoted considerable attention to speculation over Ms Lewinsky's recent weight loss, announcing a consensus view of 13.5 kilograms.

It went on to describe the 26-year-old Ms Lewinsky as someone 'born to be a voluptuous cartoon'.