GUN BARREL CITY, Tex. — The American political divide is often characterized as red versus blue. But some of the most intense political battles in small-town Texas are fought on a far older division: wet versus dry.

To many residents of this East Texas town, which has long been caught up in the folklore of the Wild West, Mayor Dennis R. Wood has the worst sort of drinking problem. He has a problem with the culture of drinking. Late-night drinking in particular.

Mr. Wood tried to stop the town from allowing restaurants to serve alcohol until 2 a.m. on the weekends, a campaign that has put his political future in jeopardy and has cost him friendships, City Council support and about $1,000 in local newspaper advertising and signs. What happened in Gun Barrel City was about a simple matter — five extra hours of drinking per week. But it was also about so much more: God, jobs, politics, chain restaurants and diner disputes, all in a friendly little town that happens to have a two-pistol logo above the doors of City Hall.