Two television projects focused on Hillary Clinton got the axe after the programmes became embroiled in partisan wrangling, including threats by the Republican National Committee to boycott presidential debates sponsored by CNN and NBC.

Faced with a trio of controversies, President Barack Obama is trying to halt a perception spreading among both White House opponents and allies that he has been passive and disengaged as unexpected developments consume his second term.

US PRESIDENT Barack Obama channelled President Theodore Roosevelt last night, embracing a mantle of economic fairness for the nation’s middle class that drew parallels to the progressive reformer’s calls for a “square deal” for regular Americans more than a century ago.