Obama enters decisive phase of presidency

By Edward Luce in Washington
Published: July 1 2009 21:23

Barack Obama is gearing up for the most decisive phase of his presidency when the fate of his core legislative proposals will show whether he is capable of taming Washington or whether Washington will tame him.

Critics and supporters see Mr Obama’s attempts to push his flagship healthcare reform through Congress this month as a critical test of the president’s pledge to take on Washington’s most powerful lobby groups.

Franken victory gives Obama boost in Senate - Jun-30In depth: Obama’s first year - May-07Addressing a town hall meeting in Virginia on Wednesday, Mr Obama warned that “the hardest part is yet to come – because that’s the part when the nayÂ*sayers and cynics use every excuse and scare tactic in the book to stop reform from happening. And it’s already happening as we speakâ€