Inside Story

A trillion dollars on the table

Six months into his presidency, Barack Obama is facing the first major legislative test of his administration, Simon Jackman tells Peter Clarke

Peter Clarke 20 July 2009 110 words

Members of the Service Employees International Union’s Nurse Alliance at an online town hall meeting on healthcare reform with President Obama in the White House, Washington, 26 March 2009. Mike Kingsbury/SEIU/Flickr



SIX MONTHS into his presidency, Barack Obama is facing the first major legislative test of his administration: the passing of his reforming health care bill, with a potentially massive impact on spending. If Obama doesn’t succeed on this key legislation, his entire reform agenda and his presidency will be fundamentally diminished. Australian-born Professor Simon Jackman, based at Stanford University in California, is currently a visiting professor at the United States Study Centre at the University of Sydney, from where he discussed Obama’s prospects as a reformist legislator via iChat with Peter Clarke.

Listen to part 1 here

Listen to part 2 here

Podcast theme created by Ivan Clarke, Pang Productions.