Every day we ask influential politicos to send us their top three bullet points that are driving the day’s conversation inside and outside Washington.

RedState.Com Editor Erick-Woods Erickson:

- Conservatives in the House of Representatives may be less accommodating to a debt ceiling increase now that S&P has proclaimed there to be problems.

- Barack Obama continues to make his sales pitch for his deficit reduction plan non-plan. Meanwhile, according to a Washington Post/ABC poll, 78% of Americans think inflation is getting worse. That’ll be a problem for him.

- According to the same poll, more Americans really don’t like Obama’s handling of the economy.

Senior Political Columnist for TheDailyBeast.com John Avlon:

- S&P Downgrade of U.S. Debt: This is a big deal and a long-time coming - but it was spurred not just by the growth of U.S. deficits and debt, but S&P’s concern that the hyper-partisan, polarized political environment in Washington is making dealing with the deficit and debt-ceiling more doubtful. Shut-down-the-government conservatives shouldn’t feel vindicated by this - they are part of the problem.

- Trump-Mania: In both senses of the word ‘mania’, this is a media frenzy encouraged by a guy who is more than a little manic in his pursuit of self-promotion. His interview with Candy Crowley on State of the Union was, at times, unhinged. The fact that Birther claims and Bill Ayers conspiracies are providing a short-term pump in the polls should have responsible Republicans very concerned.

- Huck and Palin - In or Out?: They have been riding high in the polls for months despite doing nothing concrete to build a presidential campaign apparatus. Bachmann and Trump have stolen their thunder on the far right and Romney and Pawlenty are taking their money. But there have been some small signs that they are now considering a run, including a re-launch of the Sarah PAC website. The clock is ticking…

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