WASHINGTON -- In the nomination of Dr. Henry Foster Jr. to be surgeon general, President Clinton and his advisers have once again demonstrated their special talent for making things more difficult than they need to be.
The choice of Dr. Foster was meant to be a positive statement because of the special reputation the Nashville obstetrician-gynecologist had acquired for his efforts to discourage teen-age pregnancies.
But the White House had to know from the outset that choosing someone with such a specialty would raise questions about abortion.
The safe thing would have been for the president to choose instead some state public health official with a different area of expertise; nobody demonstrates against orthopedists.
But, having opted not to take the easy way, the White House made things infinitely more difficult by appearing defensive on the question of whether Dr. Foster had ever performed any abortions.
First, Sen. Nancy Kassebaum, chairwoman of the Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee, was told there had been just one. Then the White House had to admit that this was "an honest mistake" and that he had performed "fewer than a dozen," most of them involving cases of rape, incest or danger to the mother.
And, the White House quickly added, over his long career Dr. Foster had delivered more than 10,000 babies. The implication was that this record might atone for the abortions.
The political mistake was, of course, getting into the numbers game at all.
The fact is that Dr. Foster was not primarily an abortionist, but it is no surprise to discover that someone with his resume performed the procedure on occasion. And, most to the point, he did so at a time when it was perfectly legal.
So why should either the nominee or the president be thrown on the defensive?
We all know there are millions of Americans who oppose abortion under any circumstances. But the law allows abortion, so there is no reason Dr. Foster should appear to be hemming and hawing -- and, inevitably, recalling candidate Bill Clinton admitting in 1992 that he had smoked marijuana in England but never inhaled.
The mistake was made, however, and the stage is now set for another full-scale brouhaha over abortion rights. White House press secretary Michael McCurry had to be kidding when he said he hoped the nomination wouldn't be used as "a litmus test on choice." Already the air is full of complaints that Dr. Foster has been involved in Planned Parenthood.
The president, meanwhile, has little or no room to maneuver on this nomination. He cannot easily absorb the political abuse he would suffer if he ended up replacing Joycelyn Elders because she was too controversial with another nominee who is too controversial, even if far more circumspect than Dr. Elders in his choice of language.
Nor can Clinton forget the Lani Guinier episode almost two years ago -- the nomination of and then withdrawal of Guinier to be assistant attorney general for civil rights because of a controversy over some of her writing as an academic. The decision to throw Guinier over the side still rankles with some black leaders in the Democratic Party.
In that case, however, the president had a fig leaf -- his story that he had learned about Guinier's ideas and articles only after nominating her and was pulling back simply because he found he didn't agree with those ideas and articles. That kind of excuse clearly won't wash with Dr. Foster.
On the face of it, the Republicans should be applauding the choice of someone devoted to preaching sexual abstinence and preventing teen-age pregnancies. That approach would seem to square with the "family values" so many conservatives like to talk about these days. But abortion is a red flag issue, so some heat is inevitable.
The irony is that things seemed to have been picking up for Clinton. His poll ratings were improved, he had shown strength and leadership on Mexico, trade with China and the baseball strike.
But now another case of clumsiness in the White House has given aid and comfort to his enemies -- and put Dr. Foster's nomination in some jeopardy.