Bernanke to talk about the state of the economy, plus more to watch for Thursday in politics

— -- Everybody will be listening closely Thursday when Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke testifies before the Joint Economic Committee on the state of the economy. Whatever he says will become spin material for Democrats and Republicans.

President Barack Obama will deliver remarks at a breakfast fundraiser in Park, Calif., before heading to the University of Nevada-Las Vegas where he will speak about the need for Congress to stop the scheduled July 1 doubling of  the interest rate on federally-subsidized Stafford loans from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent. Speaker of the House John Boehner and Majority Leader Eric Cantor urged Obama on Wednesday to skip the Las Vegas speech and get back to Washington to work with them on a deal to keep the rate low.

Meanwhile, Mitt Romney will be campaigning in the battleground state of Missouri with a stop in St. Louis.

Also worth noting: First lady Michelle Obama will attend campaign events in Virginia and Washington, D.C., and Ron Paul will speak at the Texas Republican Party State Convention.

And then there is this: House Republicans will launch an experimental online effort Thursday to gin up renewed support for repeal of the health care law.

Sources: Yahoo! News, Associated Press