And now some fresh pickings from the Political Grapevine...
The Rundown
As we approach the 11th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, Washington Post columnist Marc Thiessen points to what he calls startling new statistics regarding President Obama's daily intelligence briefings.
A conservative investigative research organization says that during his first 1,225 days in office, President Obama attended the daily session just 536 times -- about 44 percent.
National Security Spokesman Tommy Vietor did not dispute the numbers but said -- quote -- "The president gets the information he needs from the intelligence community each day."
In the Hot Seat
President Obama told author Bob Woodward that it was a mistake to dress down Wisconsin Republican Congressman Paul Ryan during a major policy speech last year on spending and the debt.
The president told Woodward about a month before Ryan was tapped as Mitt Romney's running mate -- quote -- "I was not aware when I gave that speech that Paul Ryan was going to be sitting right there."
Had he known -– quote -- "I might have modified some of it...I do think that they felt like we were trying to embarrass him. We made a mistake."
Ryan was invited by the White House to that speech.
ABC News points out based on audio transcripts of the president's interview with Bob Woodward, President Obama actually called the Wisconsin congressman, Jack Ryan.
It wasn't noted in the book and of course, the president now realizes Ryan's name is, of course, Paul -- not Jack.
Birds of a Feather
Finally, Russian President Vladimir Putin is defending his effort to lead young Siberian cranes on a southern migration flight.
Last week, Putin donned a white costume and rode in a motorized hang glider.
However, the birds mostly refused to follow him.
Putin told a crowd over the weekend that the only ones that did not fly were weak -- adding the weather was uncooperative.
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox