Mark Halperin's three things to watch for in presidential politics for Tuesday, August 26:
1) Watch Hillary Clinton's primetime speech tonight. It will be fantastic by all accounts, she's worked very hard on it. The Senator is expected to begin around 10:30 pm ET. Watch to see what kind of speech she gives and what kind of message she sends about Barack Obama and both George W. Bush and John McCain.
2) Keep an eye on the negotiations between the Clinton and Obama forces. The Clinton and Obama camps have reportedly agreed to limit Wednesday's nominating process, allowing some states to cast votes for both Obama and Clinton before ending the roll call in an acclamation for the Illinois Senator. In one scenario, Clinton would cut off the voting and urge the unanimous nomination of Obama. But some Clinton delegates say they're not interested in a compromise, raising the prospect of floor demonstrations. Watch to see what comes out of the talks, and how the forces stage-manage the next 48 hours to get Barack Obama the nomination and have that cathartic moment that Clinton says her supporters need.
3) Watch for the negative message that the McCain campaign will have to deal with from Obama's convention. Last night was soft and fuzzy, but expect there to be some sense of the single frame the Democrats will use to define John McCain in negative terms.
The Political Schedule
Wednesday, December 2
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- 1:00 pm
- Robert Gibbs delivers the daily press briefing from the White House
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- 1:45 pm
- President Obama receives the economic daily briefing in the Oval Office
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- 2:45 pm
- President Obama meets with senior advisors in the Oval Office
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- 3:25 pm
- President Obama meets with Senator Bayh in the Oval Office
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- 4:10 pm
- President Obama meets with Senator Graham in the Oval Office
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- 7:30 pm
- Ed Gillespie gives speech on "Rebuilding the Republican Party" at the University of Delaware
