Mark Halperin’s Three Things

Mark Halperin's three things to watch for in politics for Friday, June 26.

1. Watch the energy vote today in the House. The president made two public statements calling for Congress to pass the bill, so he has a lot on the line in seeing it pass today, as does the Democratic leadership. Watch to see the outcome of the vote and whether the White House can declare a clear victory.

2. Watch the White House's attempts to stay in the news even as the media focuses on Michael Jackson's death, Mark Sanford, Iran and North Korea. Political news has largely been drowned out on the cable networks and newspaper front pages since Jackson's death, so watch to see if that changes or if the story has legs long enough to run through the weekend.

3. Watch the evolving White House strategy on health care. They're still trying to find a way of responding to the small wins and losses on certain measures and details working their way through Congress. Watch to see if they can figure out a good way to steer through all the intermediate news that comes from the negotiations leading up to a final bill. Also watch to see if the White House continues to push for an all-Democratic solution or shifts to wanting a more bipartisan bill.