Updated

President Obama is telling leaders at the annual National Prayer Breakfast he hopes they maintain the morning's bipartisan spirit a little longer.

The president says he often returns from the gathering and turns on cable news, only to find that prayers for unity have already faded away. He jokes that he'd "like to think that the shelf life wasn't so short."

Obama says this time, he hopes the gathered leaders retain their humility, not just for the annual hour-long meeting, but for every hour of the day. He says "Those of us with the most power and influence must be the most humble."

Republican Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama, host of this year's breakfast, responded by thanking Obama for being his president.