To the Point

Assessing the Republican, Democratic National Conventions

Following three nights of almost exclusive focus on the security of the nation by the likes of Rudolph Giuliani and Arnold Schwarzenegger, President Bush ended the Republican National Convention last night by turning to an agenda on national issues for the next four years. In hindsight, some pundits criticize the Democrats for being too politically polite, and not mounting personal attacks on President Bush. Others blame spending four days defending John Kerry's past as the reason Kerry didn't experience much upward bounce in the post-convention polls. Guest host Diana Nyad joins journalists, a national pollster, and Democratic and Republican strategists for an assessment of both conventions and where the two parties stand beginning the final push of the campaigns. Making News: Russian School Siege Ends Citizens in the southern Russian town of Beslan are in mourning today. For days, the town of 30,000 has been waiting for some 1000 hostages to be freed by Chechen militants. Today's chaos erupted when the school's roof collapsed. Scores have been killed and hundreds injured after Russian troops stormed the site. Greg White, Moscow Bureau chief for the Wall Street Journal, updates the unfolding story.