1) A comparative phrase meaning "possessing no great dissimilarity from, but not neccesarily possessing similarity to."
That subtle denotation escapes most, and it is most commonly used as:
2) a clumsy, noncomittal way of expressing simple similarity.
1) Well, yes, I guess it would be fair to say that Bush's appropriation of power for the executive is not unlike the administration of Hitler's Germany, but that misses the point.