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

Will medical illness mean political change?

Hello again, I'm Orman Alney, and this is To the Point from Public Radio International, a daily look at the issues Americans care about most.

While the rest of the country

copes with the weather or makes holiday plans, Washington's political class is buzzing about brain surgery.

South Dakota Democrat Tim Johnson's ailment could alter the one-vote balance of power in the U.S. Senate, or could it?

On to the point, the Senate is bound by tradition.

Back in the 1940s, one member served four years without ever attending a session.

In these polarized times, will the Upper House maintain its historic gentility or give way to the partisan demands of the moment?

On reporter's notebook later on, looking for good news in Iraq's unified soccer team.

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 Alney, back with To the Point. Unexpected brain

surgery has focused attention on the delicate balance of power in the U.S. Senate.

On To the Poet is the Democrats' one-vote margin in jeopardy. We'll hear about politics and

advancements in medical treatment.

On reporter's notebook, can soccer succeed, where government leaders have failed, producing

some sense of unity in Iraq. First is news update on the 19th anniversary of its organization,

Hamas, which leads the Palestinian government, has accused the rival Fatah faction of trying to

assassinate

...