delegate, 1960 Democratic National Convention
Resident of Wyoming and one of the state's 15 delegates at the 1960 Democratic National Convention
PROFILE
Mike Vinich
Guest
FROM Mike Vinich
To the Point
Political Party Conventions: What Are They For? Party conventions used to nominate presidential candidates. Now that's all done in advance. Next week's Republican Party convention plans to break with tradition. Instead of waiting until Wednesday, they'll nominate Mitt Romne y on Monday, the first day of their convention in Tampa. Does that mean conventions don't matter? Recent history suggests that they do. Remember Barack Obama's keynote speech in 2004? Remember Sarah Palin in 2008? We hear about conventions past — with the voices of Franklin Roosevelt, Hubert Humphrey, John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan. How have the raucous gatherings of political insiders evolved into carefully scripted TV productions? Will the Republicans finally unite behind Mitt Romney next week in Tampa? Can they survive the Florida weather?
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To the Point
Janesville and the American Dream Janesville, Wisconsin is the hometown of Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan. But he couldn’t prevent the closing of the General Motors factory after 100 years. On this Memorial Day rebroadcast of To the Point, we hear what’s happened to what once was a model of American middle-class unity.
To the Point
Who's to blame for the opioid crisis? Some of the lawyers who took on Big Tobacco are now going after Big Pharma. It’s all about the deadly epidemic of opioid use. Are the drug companies to blame? What about the users? Later, on today’s Talking Point: making sense of Britain’s upset election.
To the Point
What is Trump's plan for Middle East peace? On his first foreign tour, President Trump has promised "peace" between Israel and the Palestinians. Are there any details for re-starting talks that have been stalled for the past three years?
To the Point
Trump's 'America First' goes missing abroad In the Middle East, President Trump is changing some policies of the Obama Administration—and reversing his own campaign attacks on Islam as a religion that "hates us." We hear about his visit to Saudi Arabia and what's at stake for the rest of his foreign excursion.