A ticklish week for Barack Obama

THE president’s annual state-of-the-union speech, despite the fuss and standing ovations in Congress, is often a forgettable laundry list of priorities. But Barack Obama’s first proper go at the address to Congress on Wednesday January 27th as mandated by the constitution (his inaugural speech last year did not count as a state-of-the-union talk) will be watched with unusual interest, and not only because he is a far better speaker than his predecessor, George Bush. After the recent stinging loss of a Massachusetts Senate seat to the Republicans, the president’s domestic agenda is imperilled. He needs to present a clear idea of what he plans to do next.

Health care is still foremost in many minds despite the arguments surrounding Mr Obama's continuing efforts to rein in America's bankers. The Massachusetts vote means that Republicans, now with 41 of 100 seats, have denied the Democrats a super-majority and so can use a filibuster to talk out almost any bill. Scott Brown, the new senator for Massachusetts, has promised to do just that. How the Democrats respond will matter greatly, both for the prospects of the bill and the performance of the two main political parties at mid-term elections in November year. Some Democrats want to push the Senate version of the health bill through the House of Representatives without amendment, which would mean not putting it back through the Senate. But that would appear to ignore the voters' wishes in Massachusetts, risking a big voter backlash later in the year. ...