President Obama Goes Off Script

Some fresh pickings from the Political Grapevine:

Fill in the Blank

President Obama is getting some flak for leaving out a phrase while he was quoting from the Declaration of Independence, speaking at an event last week. Here is what he said:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal -- endowed with certain unalienable rights -- life and liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

That line should have read "all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights."

White House officials say President Obama went off script and ad-libbed when he made the mistake.

In Attendance

The first family attended Sunday services at Saint John's Episcopal Church across from the White House this past weekend. It was only the fourth time President Obama has publicly attended church since he took office.

The networks that had evening newscasts covered the visit, with ABC noting the politics associated with what it called the "rare trip." Quote: "He hasn't been to church in Washington since Easter. One in five Americans think wrongly that he's Muslim. The president's dismal poll numbers are also a problem for his fellow Democrats."

Party Crasher

Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski's decision to run as a write-in candidate this fall, after losing the Republican primary to Joe Miller, is ruffling feathers within her party.

South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint -- a Miller supporter -- lashed out at his colleague in a fundraising e-mail, calling her a big tent hypocrite. Murkowski responded: "It's not trying to make the Republican Party happy. It's not trying to make Jim DeMint happy. I'm trying to respond to the people of the state of Alaska."

Who's on First?

CBS' Mark Knoller called out the vice president today for comments suggesting he is not on deck if something were to happen to the president. Knoller tweeted: "Someone tell VP Biden he's 1st in the line of succession to the Presidency. In remarks just now, he said he was 2nd. House Speaker is 2nd."