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.

Senior Political Columnist for TheDailyBeast.com John Avlon:

- Debt Ceiling Talks Continue: President Obama is trying to seize the center by being the adult in the room. A grand bargain would be best for the country long term, but raising the debt ceiling is a short term must - no matter what Pawlenty and Bachmann say.

- Palin and Perry: The 2012 race is heating up but the field could still get even more crowded. Palin sounded like she was leaning toward a run in the Newsweek cover story interview - and Perry seems to be making the organizational moves to make a run. Either entry would shake up the race and coalesce the field.

- Two elections today: The special election for Jane Harman’s former seat in southern California is today (best known for featuring one of the ugliest ads in recent times) - and the democratic primary run off for the August recall election in Wisconsin is today as well. Plenty of national themes playing out in both.

RedState.Com Editor Erick-Woods Erickson:

- I’m hearing that Republicans have decided to play hard ball on the debt ceiling talks and will insist on no new taxes, but more than that, no new “revenue increases,” which the Speaker had been inclined to go with, but most House Republicans view as backdoor taxes.

- President Obama says it is time to eat our peas. The irony here is that in the past the House suffered under the Gephardt rule. That rule required the debt ceiling increase be attached to another popular measure to avoid any sort of debate. The GOP ditched that rule. Had it been ditched sooner, we might have had this come to Jesus moment below even $10 trillion in debt.

- Here’s a topic no one is addressing, but get prepared for it to get into the top 5 issues in Campaign 2012: Mexico. The Mexican police force is largely dissolved. The military can’t handle the strain. This is beyond the issue of immigration — this is a foreign policy disaster on our southern border that keeps creeping across the border. And Operation Gun Walker plays into it big time.

Editor’s Note: The blog is a place for a freewheeling exchange of ideas and opinions. CNN does not endorse anything said by its contributors.