WASHINGTON — Six months into his presidency, Barack Obama may have no greater test of his ability to translate personal popularity into a successful legislative agenda than the upcoming two weeks.

With skepticism about the president's health care reform effort mounting on Capitol Hill — even within his own party — the White House has launched a new phase of its strategy designed to dramatically increase public pressure on Congress: all Obama, all the time.

Senior White House aides promise "an aggressive public and private schedule" for Obama as he presses his case for reform, including a prime-time news conference Wednesday and heavy use of Internet video to broadcast his message beyond the reach of traditional media.

"Our strategy has been to allow this process to advance to the point where it made sense for the president to take the baton. Now's that time," said senior adviser David Axelrod.

But even as Obama returns to full-time campaign mode, he is facing increasing calls to show that his presidency can manage the nitty-gritty of lawmaking by cutting deals with his allies to keep health care legislation moving in the House and Senate committees.

Conservative Democrats in the House are promising to vote against reform as it stands and are preparing two dozen amendments. In the Senate, members from both parties are urging Obama to break his campaign vow to preserve the tax-free status of health benefits. And a chorus on Capitol Hill is urging him to abandon his demand for passage of bills in the House and Senate by Aug. 7.

The decision to vault Obama to the front carries huge risks. If conservative House Democrats succeed in sowing fear of rising deficits, it will be seen as Obama's fault he could not rein them in. If Democrats in the Senate fail to agree on financing, Obama must explain the failure despite his party's majorities in both chambers.