To the Point

The Democratic Party after Dean

With Dick Gephardt, Howard Dean and Joe Lieberman out of the race, Democratic Party debate on issues seems to be over. Die-hard liberals Dennis Kucinich and Al Sharpton aren-t getting a lot of votes, and although Edwards has only one victory to his credit so far, he-s the only Democrat still being given a chance to stop Kerry-s presidential nomination. But Edwards and Kerry are focused more on President Bush than each other, and with New York, California, Texas and Florida still to go, one observer says, -trying to differentiate between these guys on policy grounds is virtually impossible.- Have the Democrats resolved past conflicts on trade, taxes and spending, or just put them aside? What does a -mainstream Democrat- look like? Is opposition to an increasingly conservative Republican president what-s really holding the Democratic Party together? Making News (local broadcast): Mounting Violence in Haiti The US government has urged 20,000 Americans to leave Haiti, after insurgents torched police outposts and threatened new attacks in a spreading rebellion against President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Time magazine correspondent Kathy Klarreich, who has recently returned from the island nation, updates the latest response of the opposition and armed rebels, as well as ongoing diplomatic efforts to restore calm and the rule of law. Making News: Americans Flee Haiti Americans are fleeing the island nation of Haiti, where insurgents have torched police outposts and threatened new attacks in a spreading rebellion against President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Edwedge Balutansky is reporting from Port au Prince for the BBC. Reporter's Notebook: Union of Concerned Scientists Report Twenty Nobel laureates are among those claiming that the Bush administration is distorting science to conform to preordained policies, rather than using science to determine what those policies should be. The White House scientific advisor calls it a -conspiracy theory.- We get two perspectives from physicist Kurt Gottfried, who chairs the board of the Union of Concerned Scientists, and Charlie Coon, a senior policy analyst for energy and the environment at the Heritage Foundation.