Mark Halperin's three things to watch for in presidential politics for Wednesday, July 16:
1) Keep an eye on the big news on Iran this morning as the Bush Administration plans to open talks with the Iranians. William Burns, America's third-highest ranking diplomat, will join colleagues from other world powers at a meeting in Switzerland with Iran's chief nuclear negotiator this weekend. A break in the Bush administration's policy, it's the first time a U.S. rep will attend such talks. Watch to see how this story reverberates on the campaign trail.
2) Watch the latest economic news developing throughout the day Wednesday. The Fed Chair Ben Bernanke is set to appear before the House Financial Services Committee at 10 am ET for his second day of testimony on the ailing economy. On Tuesday Bernanke rattled markets after saying the housing finance crisis and soaring energy costs would hurt economic growth. As evidenced on the front pages of today's newspapers, there's lots of economic news, negative data, and a real concern in the United States about the economy. Watch to see how the candidates deal with that today.
3) Pay attention to John McCain's speech to the NAACP's 99th convention meeting this morning. The Senator plans to make education the main issue in an address to the civil rights group at 11:30 am ET in Cincinnati, Ohio. Obama addressed the group Monday. Watch to see what kind of news McCain is able to make there with early excerpts of his remarks not showing any hints of whether he'll be targeting Obama. There's little expectation that McCain will win a lot of the African American vote away from Barack Obama, but watch to see how McCain uses this opportunity to drive home a message about his agenda to all Americans.
The Political Schedule
Tuesday, December 8
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- 1:15 pm
- President Obama and Vice President Biden meet with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the Oval Office
