Alistair Horne writes in the Daily Telegraph, "having spent weeks immersed both in the intricacies of Watergate in 1973 and the current scandal that is electrifying Washington, I cannot help but see echoes of the episode that brought down Richard Nixon.... Many of the pundits are in denial about the Watergate parallels. They stress that this President, much as they loathe him, and unless we're missing something, could have no stained cocktail dress hidden away, and - dumb as he is - would never stoop to the "tricky dickery" that brought Nixon down. On the other hand, it could well bring down Cheney. Will it stop there?"

He adds: "Senior members of the Bush Administration who, with a sense of history, remember Watergate are deeply alarmed at the implications of this scandal: a distracted and weak administration, a demoralised CIA - and the war in Iraq. They worry about the comfort being given to America's enemies at a particularly dangerous time, when neither that war, nor the war on terror, is being won. By contrast, by 1973 America was no longer engaged in a hot war in Vietnam; and she had reliable allies.

"In many ways the situation looks more loaded with menace now. Meanwhile, out of all the mess, domestically the dreadful Bill Clinton somehow arises as having been almost a serious president - with all that may mean for Hillary's chances (not hitherto looking bright) at the coming election."