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

Incivility, racial hostility and dissent in America.

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

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

At town halls and tea parties on cable TV and the Internet, even in Congress,

America's political discourse is increasingly angry and vitriolic.

With the first black president in the White House,

Republicans and the media are accused of inflaming racial anxieties. At the same time,

massive new government programs in times of economic distress are legitimate subjects for heated

debate. We'll talk about the roots of the outrage and the consequences for the Republican and

Democratic parties. On reporter's notebook later on, did a Bush administration official violate the public

trust? 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. MacArthur Foundation. Hello again,

Warren Alleney, back with To the Point. Attacks on America's first black president and his

proposals have inflamed America's ongoing controversy about race and politics, especially at a time

of economic anxiety. We'll look at the possible consequences today. On reporter's notebook,

the Obama Justice Department looks for possible wrongdoing in the Bush

administration. In meantime, America's political discourse is increasingly angry and vitriolic across the

country and in the halls of Congress. John Mercurio is executive editor of the hotline. That's the

National Journal's daily web briefing on politics. And John, it's good to

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