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

President Obama and the effort to find common ground.

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

a daily look at the issues Americans care about most.

Yesterday, President Obama toughened his language against political repression by the government of Iran.

Today, more bloody violence is being reported.

The president has tried to keep open the prospect of dialogue about nuclear development and other issues,

but critics now call that policy dead.

Was it a mistake to try to find common ground?

Is there any hope that the U.S. can protect demonstrators or persuade Iran to change its ways?

What do these events reveal about the president's overall strategy for domestic issues as well as foreign affairs?

On reporter's notebook later on, the governor of South Carolina is no longer missing. 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, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and the Rockefeller Foundation,

and its campaign for American workers. More at rockfound.org. Hello again, Warren, I'm

back with To the Point. It's reported today that before Iran's disputed election, the Obama

administration sent a letter to the Supreme Leader, proposing cooperation in regional and bilateral

relations.

Today we'll talk about the president's pattern of seeing common ground with his adversaries. First, this news update, there are reports today of more bloody repression on the

streets of Tehran. Here's a cell phone conversation between CNN's Ivan Watson and a 20-something

student protester. The security force shooting on people on Lalazar.

And of course people were brave.

They booed the security forces.

...