The shock when a Republican representative heckled him with 'You Lie!' during an address to Congress is the most dramatic example of the trouble US President Barack Obama is in at home, notably as he tries to reform the American healthcare system. Former president Jimmy Carter said the abuse was evidence of racism.

Film director Spike Lee spoke to Newsnight's Jeremy Paxman about racism in the US and whether Jimmy Carter's recent claims that much of the vitriol against President Barack Obama's health reform plans is "based on racism''.