To the Point

Who Is John Kerry?

Now that John Kerry, the Massachusetts Yankee, has won in the South, pressure is building on John Edwards and Howard Dean to get out of the race for the Democratic nomination. Though party leaders say a consensus candidate unscratched by brutal primary battles has the best chance of beating President Bush, polls show that rank-and-file Democrats don-t really know who they-ve been voting for. We examine the pros and cons of Kerry's political record and what his sweeping victory means for the democratic process with political reporters from the Los Angeles Times, The American Prospect and The Weekly Standard and the political director of National Annenberg Election Survey at the University of Pennsylvania. Making News: Bush Aims to Curb Spread of Nuclear Weapons Technology Recent reports that North Korea, Iran and Libya all received nuclear weapons technology from Pakistan have led to new proposals by President Bush. He wants to limit the number of nations allowed to produce nuclear fuel. David Sanger, White House correspondent for the New York Times, says that, once again, the White House hasn't laid the groundwork that could ensure the support of the international community. Reporter's Notebook: French Ruling on Headscarves Its secular tradition dates back to the Revolution of 1789, which was in part a rebellion against the Catholic Church. Now its population is 8 percent Muslim, and that is posing a challenge to France's official secularism. Yesterday, with overwhelming popular support, the National Assembly voted to ban headscarves, skullcaps and oversized crosses worn by Muslim, Jewish and Christian students. Ghislaine Hudson was part of the Stasi Commission, which proposed the ban on religious symbols in public schools.