Mark Halperin’s Three Things

Mark Halperin's three things to watch for in politics for Friday, July 24.

1. Watch to see what President Obama does to try to get health care back on track now that the schedule has been pushed back in the Senate. He’s scheduled to meet with Majority Leader Reid and Finance Committee Chair Baucus at the White House this morning, so watch to see what comes out of that session in terms of progress for the committee and the broader timeline for the Senate. Watch to see if they’re able to agree on a schedule that’s at once workable on the public relations front and in reality.

2. Watch to see what the conventional wisdom today is on the prospects for health care in the coming weeks. Watch for views coming from Washington, around the country, on cable, talk radio and elsewhere on what the prospects for health care are and what president’s next moves should be. He’s not moving into the weekend with much positive momentum, so watch to see how Friday sets the table for the weekend.

3. Watch the Skip Gates story and what kind of attention it gets today. The White House is trying to keep the focus on health care and tamp down the continuing legs of this story, so watch to see whether it tries to get the story to recede into the background or allows it to continue to play out today.