President Clinton's upcoming visit to South Asia is very much the topic of the day in Nepal -- and disappointed talk it is. PNS commentator Mike McPhate explains why. McPhate is a part-time reporter and copy editor for the Kathmandu Post, Nepal's leading English daily. He is currently affiliated with a study abroad program in Nepal through the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

KATHMANDU -- President Clinton's plan to visit South Asia in March has stirred up quite a fuss over here.

- China is anxious that Clinton may make hasty compromises with India for the sake of a successful trip.

- India has reacted nervously to the prospect of the United States meddling in its affairs in Kashmir.

- Desperate to charm the president into Pakistan, headman General Musharraf sent a letter to a U.S. Senator promising to wage an "unequivocal" battle against terrorism and hold elections by the end of the year.

- The visit to Bangladesh, the first ever by a U.S. president, will be a huge morale-booster for one of world's least developed countries. Those absent from the itinerary, which currently includes only India and Bangladesh, feel left out. Nepal, a faithful ally of the United States, takes the snub especially hard.

As Clinton gives priority to Nepal's massive nuclear-armed neighbor, India, and says he will "probably" visit Pakistan, a military regime, Nepalese suspicions that the United States responds only to military muscle and economic opportunity gather more weight.

Reporters in the capital city, Kathmandu, describe Clinton's neglect as "a major diplomatic setback," "unfair," "degrading" and "a hard reality."

One fired-up letter writer in the Kathmandu Post explains why Clinton might not be interested in visiting. "[We have] no oil, no billions of people to drive Fords or eat McDonald's, no ethnic war, no money to buy Boeing, no need for Patriot missiles, no religious conflict and above all, no nuclear bomb. All we are is a small peaceful 'third world' underdeveloped country!"

Nepal may take the issue a little harder than others. Clinton is seen as a hero of sorts in this part of the world. Since John F. Kennedy initiated the Peace Corps in the 1960s, Nepalese have particularly favored Democrats -- indeed, Abe Lincoln, a popular hero, is often mistakenly recognized as a Democrat.

In addition, Nepalese view the Lewinsky affair as amplifying the man's mystique. One friend described Lewinsky as a "fairy -- the most beautiful woman in the world. It is only natural for a man of such power to fall for her." After all, U.S. movies in India and Nepal have made it quite clear that all westerners cheat on their spouses.

Most important, Nepal feels it deserves a nod of approval from the super power for its dedicated efforts to strengthen its democracy according to the U.S. model.

In April, 1990, after 18 years of absolutism under King Birendra, the current parliamentary government seized control. Following that moment of revolutionary bliss, the country prepared to usher in an era of U.S. -style prosperity and freedom.

The freedom has come, slowly, but 81 percent of Nepal's 24 million people survive on subsistence farming, continuing to scrape by with a per capita income of less than $300 a year.

By offering the services of its fierce Gurkha soldiers in Desert Storm campaigns, as well as in UN peacekeeping missions in Kosovo and East Timor, Nepal has consistently made sacrifices towards U.S. interests. Still, no top-level U.S. State Department official has ever visited Nepal.

Hillary and Chelsea did come a couple of years ago and were met by massive enthusiasm. Spiro Agnew came once as Vice President and Jimmy Carter came with his wife as ex-president, but no sitting U.S. president has ever set foot in the kingdom.

If he is not willing to extend a diplomatic handshake to Nepalis, Clinton should at least stop off to catch a glimpse of the world's most spectacular mountain range. Certainly his hosts will offer him a cup of their famous dud chia, the traditional Nepali tea they have been graciously serving hordes of tourists and expatriates from the United States for more than 40 years.