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

Nationalizing America's banks, rumors, and realities.

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. Talk of nationalizing America's biggest banks, like Citigroup or Bank of America,

has frightened investors and caused bank stocks to decline. The Obama administration insists the banking

system will remain private, but yesterday it took steps that could lead to government ownership

of troubled institutions. Would that mean government management or temporary control until private capital could be raised? Could it turn into a boondoggle? If it didn't work, would taxpayers be on the hook? We'll get some answers today. On reporter's notebook later on, a new source of global warming, methane gas in the Arctic.

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. Warren. I'll be back with To The Point. The Obama administration says the banking system will remain private,

but at the same time, it's taking steps that could lead to government ownership. Would that

be nationalization under another name? What's in store for the taxpayers? On Reporters' Notebook,

methane gas, released by melting ice in the polar regions, could accelerate climate change.

We'll hear the latest warning.

First, this news update, President Obama will address a joint session of Congress tonight, and White House advisors say he'll be like a doctor, telling a patient that even though the illness is bad, there is medication.

But it won't take effect right away. David Leitman, as White House

correspondent for the McClatchie newspapers, David sounds like kind of a complicated message.

Well, the metaphor of the week. Last week, it was that this was a fire that they had to put out,

and you know, you don't let the building burn down. You get the people out and you try to save the structure.

So what is the goal of this speech, and why aren't they calling it a state of the union address?

Technically, it's not because actually President Bush could have delivered a state of the union address.

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