WHITFIELD: All right, time for our Equals Politics Update. We're keeping an eye on all the latest headlines on the cnnpolitics.com desk. House Speaker John Boehner is holding a conference call with House Republicans in just over an hour from now. He is expected to discuss a deal to raise the debt ceiling. Lawmakers want to agree to a plan before 8:00 tonight when Asia's financial markets open. In just three weeks, Iowa holds the Ames Straw Poll. That's a key political test in the first in the nation caucus state, but not every big name Republican will be on it. Sarah Palin and Texas Governor Rick Perry have been left off the ballot. Neither has announced a presidential bid yet, but straw poll voters can write their names on the ballot. And presidential candidate Michele Bachmann says she's ready to get more Republicans elected to Congress if she wins the Republican nomination. The Minnesota congresswoman vows to campaign for GOP senatorial candidates and help raise money for them. She says, quote, "this isn't about me and vanity, this is about making the country better." And for the latest political news, you know exactly where to go cnnpolitics.com.
Palin and Perry Not on the Iowa Straw Poll