To President Clinton's most passionate critics, the report by Mr Kenneth Starr may be cited as cause for impeachment, resignation or congressional censure.
Yet there is another subgroup of Americans that approaches the latest avalanche of news in the scandal with a profoundly different attitude, one that is both distinct and bittersweet: they are the President's loyalists, his long-time friends and contributors, once linked by their ardent belief in the promise of the Clinton Presidency.
While their reactions to scandal as detailed in the Starr report vary, their feelings often include an uneasy blend of disappointment, sympathy and hope that Mr Clinton can salvage his Presidency and complete his term.
Those who know Mr Clinton well profess little shock that he would be tempted to carry on a relationship outside his marriage. But what bewilders some, such as the former labour secretary, Mr Robert B. Reich, is that the lifelong politician would engage in behaviour that jeopardised everything he had ever striven for.
"I was in denial for a long time," said Mr Reich, who became friends with Mr Clinton when the two were college students en route to their Rhodes scholarships in England. He said his "denial" ended with the President's national confession on August 17th.
"I couldn't believe he would be so stupid and reckless as to get involved with a 21year-old White House intern at a time when he was facing a civil suit on sexual harassment, when he has a history of womanising which has dogged him since the '92 election, when the public has heightened sensitivity about abuse of power by men over female employees. That kind of recklessness is very hard to understand."
To be sure, not all Clinton loyalists harboured ambivalent feelings about the President's behaviour. Some remained totally supportive, and on Friday granted him high grades for the apologetic stance he has adopted in recent days.
"If the people in Washington's attitude is they want to kick the guy when he's down, my attitude is I want to embrace him," said Mr Stephen M. Rivers, a publicist and Clinton contributor active in Democratic circles. "He's been an extraordinary President."
Many of the preliminary readings of the lengthy Starr report led to cautious optimism among some of the Democratic activists that the party relies on for its financial lifeblood.
"There is something of a sense of confidence - I wouldn't say relief - because there were no huge new revelations in the report," said Mr Paul A. Equale, a longtime Democratic activist in Washington and chief executive of the Independent Insurance Agents of America.
But, reflecting the shaky ground that remains beneath Mr Clinton, Mr Equale tempered his optimism: "Within a few days we'll have a much better fix" on how Congress is reacting to the report.
Other Democratic activists were less measured, expressing all-out support for their beleaguered President. "I think [Clinton] has made his position clear, and I think his apologies have been sincere," said Ms Beth Dozoretz, an active Democratic party fund-raiser and Clinton donor.