Immersion therapy for editorial writers.

The white house is consumed in crisis. President Clinton battles allegations of an affair with intern Monica Lewinsky. Wild speculation of indictment, impeachment, and even resignation are in the air. The pundits are having a field day.

So what's an editorial writer to do?

Head to Europe, naturally.

The oddity of a seeing a group of U.S. editorial writers in Europe in the early days of one of the nation's saucier recent scandals was not lost on many of the policymakers who held court with the participants in the NCEW's recent 18-day fact-finding trip to Brussels, Paris, Bonn, Warsaw, Krakow, and Bucharest. The subject of the trip was the transformations of NATO and the European Union, changes that carry great long-term implications on both sides of the Atlantic, but the news of the day inevitably came up at the end of many of the sessions.

"I'm surprised you're here," said Simon Fraser, a high-level EU official, smiling and shaking his head at what he and many other European leaders regarded as another example of a curious U.S. preoccupation with the private lives of its elected leaders.

Few of the Europeans could resist a biting quip. Philip Moreau Defarges, a former French Foreign Ministry adviser, even found a way to link it to a point he was making about the perils of NATO expansion.

"Somebody who wants to kiss too many people . . . kisses badly," said Defarges, citing a French proverb. He added, with a smirk, "Lessons for Mr. Clinton."

While the group hardly ignored the crisis back home - gobbling up reports from CNN, the International Herald Tribune, and calls back to the office - the participants maintained a focus on the subject at hand.

They were provided extraordinary access to the people who will be directly involved in making decisions that will shape Trans-Atlantic relations for years to come.

Highlights at major stops during the trip included:

Brussels: A day of briefings at NATO headquarters . . . in-depth briefings with key European Union officials . . . a session with U.S. officials, including A. Vernon Weaver, ambassador to the EU . . . an elegant dinner with an assortment of European policymakers, hosted by the American European Community Association.

Paris: An array of sessions with French experts, in and out of government . . . a series of excellent briefings at the U.S. Embassy . . . a stop at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development . . . a 10 p.m. news conference with U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine . . . a Saturday off in Paris. (The latter events were definitely off the record.)

Bonn: An impressive mix of top German leaders . . . an insightful session with U.S. Ambassador John Kornblum . . . a long and fruitful dinner discussion with Bonn-based journalists.

Warsaw: Two full days of terrific access to political and business leaders, including a memorable lunch with Foreign Minister Bronislaw Geremek . . . stops at two Polish newspapers to learn how journalists are making the transition to a free society and market economy . . . a reception at the residence of U.S. Ambassador Daniel Fried, with an opportunity to mix with Polish journalists in a casual setting . . . some late-night revelry at The Orpheus nightclub. (Again, details on that outing are off the record.)

Bucharest: Access so phenomenal that it seemed as if the NCEW group was a must for any Romanian official of any stature: Witness the constant cell phone calls to a group organizer from Prime Minister Victor Ciobea's office, as he tried to squeeze into our schedule (he ultimately did) . . . dilapidated government offices and bleak street scenes, with stray dogs milling about and abundant signs of poverty . . . an hour-long session in the ornate Presidential Palace with Romanian President Emil Constantinescu, who talked passionately about his determination to bring about privatization, even if the transitional pains would lead to his political undoing.

The educational experiences of an NCEW foreign trip do not end with the official stops. The meeting schedule is intensive, but it does allow for opportunities for informal chats that allow colleagues from different organizations to share perspectives - and often engage in spirited debates - on global issues.

One such session in a Paris cafe got several participants rolling on the proper role of U.S. military force in the world. Some took the perspective of parents whose children might someday be called to war; another brought to bear her knowledge of international arms trading; a history major added the long view. As the discussion grew particularly animated, Dallas Morning News editorial writer Tim O'Leary quipped, "Let's just order a round of cream pies and settle this."

The participants represented a vast range of ages and experience in foreign travel, but they shared a common curiosity about international affairs and sense of humor in the rare but inevitable glitches in logistics. The problems were very rare, and the accommodations consistently comfortable, thanks to the work of tour planner and former Associated Press editor Brian O'Hanlon of the New York-based Media Information Tours.

"You learn so much, and get a sense of things that you could never get just by reading," Anna Karavangelos of the Washington Post Writers Group said during the 24-hour long train ride to Bucharest. "One of the major reasons to take this type of trip to Europe is that Europe is on the ascendency and Americans should know about it. Americans are more and more into their own communities and into isolationism. Americans don't even seem to know what is going on in Washington, let alone in Rome and Bonn."

The White House sex scandal was not the only major news event going on back home during the NCEW trip. The crew landed in Brussels the day of the Super Bowl. The Green Bay/Denver game started at 12:30 a.m. and was available only on a hotel channel without sound and a picture that was too fuzzy and jumpy to even make out the "time remaining" graphic. Still, three members of the contingent stayed with the primitive telecast until Denver wrapped up its upset victory at about 4 a.m.

And the sleep-deprived bunch all stayed alert through a full day of NATO briefings, an early measure of what would become a very interesting and fulfilling trip.

NCEW member John Diaz is editorial page editor of the San Francisco Chronicle. His e-mail address is [e-mail].