From PRI, Public Radio International and KCRW Santa Monica, this is To the Point.

Hillary Clinton and the price of inevitability.

Hello again, I'm Aronaldi, and this is To the Point from Public Radio International.

A daily look at the issues, Americans care about most.

In the mainstream media, it's now conventional wisdom that Hillary Rodham Clinton is the presumptive Democratic

presidential nominee. The current narrative is she's overcome years of personal scrutiny

and that voters are warming to her unexpectedly. But as her lead grows in fundraising and Democratic

public opinion polls, some Republicans are rubbing their hands.

On to the point, with the Iowa caucuses still three months away, does being the acknowledged frontrunner create a new set of vulnerabilities?

Have those old negative images been erased forever?

On reporter's notebook later on, the U.S. Supreme Court turns down a case of extraordinary rendition.

First, here's the news.

Support for To the Point comes from subscribers of KCRW Santa Monica and from the Public Radio International Program Fund,

whose contributors include the Ford Foundation and the John D. and Catherine T. McArthur Foundation.

Hello again. Mormon-Aulney, back with To the Point. Hillary Rodham T. MacArthur Foundation. Hello again,

Warren Alney, back with To the Point. Hillary Rodham Clinton is now the acknowledged frontrunner on the Democratic side. On To the Point, we'll hear how that creates its own set of problems.

Why are Republicans rubbing their hands? On reporter's notebook, the U.S. Supreme Court refuses

to hear claims of CIA kidnapping and torture. We'll hear why. First this news update. In the past three days, 15 Turkish troops have been ambushed and killed near the Iraq border, reportedly by the PKK, a Kurdish separatist group. Today, Turkey's government said it has started to plan a military operation into Iraq to

chase after the PKK.

Semi Edis is columnist for Milliet, one of Turkey's major newspapers.

Semi Ediz, good to have you back on our program.

Good evening from Ankara.

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