Could a blinking a/c light in an '88 camry be caused by a burned out a/c clutch?

I have an '88 camry, a couple times I've had the a/c light blink and then i'd turn it off and back on and it'd be fine. However the last time I drove it, it did this but i could not get it to come back on. Stopped at a rest stop and popped the hood to see smoke coming from the front of the a/c compressor. I guess first of all does this sound like a clutch that went bad? Second, would the blinking light point to another problem or could this be the whole problem?