moment when he paid tribute to Carryn Owens, the widow of the Navy SEAL killed in a raid in Yemen.

But in response to the Russian revelations, one senses a certain tension between their partisan and patriotic instincts.

The Republican partisan voice says this is a historic conservative moment.

Rarely is such power wielded.

Image copyright Getty Images Image caption US Attorney General Jeff Sessions (R) has faced calls to step down

Indeed, only two of the last five Republican presidents have addressed a joint session of Congress in which the GOP (Grand Old Party) held majorities in the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Ronald Reagan never got that privilege. Nor did Richard Nixon.

This, then, is a rare opportunity to do big things, like enact tax reform, and dismantle big things, such assleepy city quite like the whiff of political blood. And it is unusual to experience this kind of agitated atmosphere so early in an administration.

Historically speaking, major scandals tend to erupt in the second term of a presidency.

Watergate, which led to Nixon's resignation. Iran-contra, which plagued Ronald Reagan. Monica Lewinsky, which led to Bill Clinton's impeachment.

The Russian allegations have not reached that fever pitch. But this is only the second month of Trump presidency, and already he has lost his national security advisor, Michael Flynn, and seen his Attorney General face calls to resign.

This scandal is also following familiar patterns. The drip, drip, drip of damning revelations. The sense that key Trump aides have tried to conceal the extent of their contacts with the Russians, which points to