Mark Halperin’s Three Things

Mark Halperin's three things to watch for in presidential politics for Monday, February 23.

1. Watch as President Obama prepares to give a big speech to Congress on Tuesday and to unveil his budget on Thursday. Today, focus on two aspects of the budget. First, watch for more news and discussion about the administration’s pledge to cut the budget deficit in half in the next few years. Also watch the administration’s efforts to remove the magic asterisk, to put into the budget a lot of spending that has been omitted from the document in recent years. Watch to see the details of those announcements and how they play out on the left and the right.

2. Watch for early indications of what is in the president’s budget. There will be leaks and speculation all week until the budget is released. Watch to see, though, what we can learn about the administration’s plans on the spending side, particularly if there are cuts in defense and other programs. Also watch to see if the budget gives clues on what kind of healthcare initiative the president will want to push through in the coming year.

3. Watch for new developments on the government’s talks with Citigroup about increasing the federal investment in the bank. There are lots of questions about the nationalization of banks, especially after the administration said last week it did not want to nationalize the country’s largest banks. Watch to see how the company’s talks with Treasury develop and whether the administration decides that Citi does need more federal support.