As a high school student in Nevada, Harry Reid was an amateur boxer, a hobby that stood him in good stead during youthful brawls. The Democratic leader in the US Senate must now hope that those schoolboy skills can prepare him for the brutal fights he faces both in Washington and at home in Nevada.

Mr Reid is trying to bring a controversial healthcare reform bill to the Senate floor, a difficult task as he tries to balance the concerns of moderate Democrats worried about cost with the insistence of liberals on a government-backed health insurance plan.