It would be foolhardy, at this early stage, to draw too many conclusions about the contents of the Starr report and the implications for President Clinton. The 11 charges laid against the President by the independent prosecutor are not unexpected. They include perjury, abuse of power, witness tampering and obstruction of justice. It remains unclear whether these charges - or rather the evidence adduced to support them - constitute grounds for impeachment.
But the gravity of the case against him is clear - even if there remains a lingering suspicion that the whole sorry business from Whitewater onward owes much to a tawdry alliance between deeply conservative forces in American society. It is also the case that the personal charges against President Clinton pale in comparison to the more substantial political case levelled, for example, against Ronald Reagan in the Iran-Contra affair.
For all that, President Clinton cannot escape culpability for his own actions. His decision to embark on an affair with a young White House intern at a time when his private life was already under investigation in the Paula Jones case was reckless in the extreme. His subsequent behaviour, notably his calculating denial of any affair "with that woman.. Miss Lewinsky" has damaged the dignity of his office and raised legitimate questions about his character and, not least, his moral authority. The salacious details which have now found their way into the Starr report will also chip away at the stature and dignity of his office.
Not unexpectedly, the famed "Comeback Kid" noted for his political resilience has already launched a strong rearguard action. Even before the publication of the report, his lawyers issued a pre-emptive 78-page denial. In acknowledging a "broken spirit", the President himself also spoke of a "strong heart" which can still work for the good of the American people.
The House must now determine whether the Starr report constitutes the "high crimes and misdemeanours" mentioned in the constitution as grounds for impeachment. The omens are hardly propitious for Mr Clinton. With elections due in November, and with the polls showing some erosion of support for the President, some Democrats have already drifted away. The key issue - not least for the Republican majority in the House - is how the Starr report will play in Middle America; whether the public believes that President Clinton is now unfit for office. And, critically, whether the lurid details in the report provoke widespread revulsion among Democrats.
President Clinton will hope that the American public will take a more pragmatic approach, put the Starr report to one side and continue to place its trust in someone whose much-admired policies have been good for the American economy and for most Americans. If Mr Clinton is weakened by the report, his ability to provide firm leadership on such issues as Russia, the Asian economy, the Middle East and, not least, the peace process in Northern Ireland will be affected. There is the appalling vista of an incumbent President battling for months through a legal labyrinth and effectively unable to discharge his functions effectively. It is to be hoped that the impeachment issue will be resolved - one way or the other - swiftly.