Obama needs luck on his side

The US president faces nightmare scenarios, from an economic crisis at home to the terrifying prospect of nuclear conflict in the Middle East or Pakistan

A hundred days on, and it is still difficult to distinguish where Obamaland ends and the real world that is the recession-rocked United States begins.

The Obama presidency is still being run with the same intensity of media and public presentation - almost as though he were still running for election. Seemingly, he cannot get out of campaign mode. The White House publicity machine is a 24/7 operation, with the Obama story saturating ...