To the Point

Which Way for the Democratic Party?

Although Howard Dean's attacks against George-s Bush-s war in Iraq and upper-income tax cuts have stirred up party activists, establishment Democrats, worried that Dean will look too -extreme- to mainstream voters, warn of another crushing defeat like that of George McGovern in 1972. Should Democrats study Republican history since Barry Goldwater, who offered -a choice, not an echo?- We hear from Democrats who advocate the moderate -centrism- of Bill Clinton, McGovern himself, and Texas progressive Jim Hightower, who says Clinton Democrats have turned into -Wobblycrats.- Making News: US Arrests Missile Buyer Federal officials are claiming another victory in the war on terrorism by intercepting an effort to smuggle a shoulder-fired missile into the US -specifically for the purpose of shooting a commercial airliner out of the sky.- Eric Umansky, who edits the "Today's Papers" column for Slate.com, has been following the US-Russian sting operation that netted the aspiring arms dealer. Reporter's Notebook: Our Town in Compton In crime-ridden Compton, California, impoverished black and Latino kids go to Dominguez High School, which has a pretty good basketball team but hadn-t had a school play in 20 years. Catherine Borek decided to end the drama drought by staging Thornton Wilder-s Our Town. We hear from Borek and the play-s narrator, Ebony Starr Norwood-Brown, about production that was documented in the film OT: Our Town, which opens this Friday in New York, Los Angeles and several other cities around the country.