MOSCOW — Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin worked Thursday to soften his authoritarian image, hinting at self-governing concessions, but he also pushed back at protesters who have rocked the country in recent weeks, saying they had been paid to show up.

     Using a televised question-and-answer session, Putin, in his first full-scale response to demonstrations after disputed parliamentary elections this month, portrayed himself as tough but reasonable, agreeing that not all was perfect in the country he has led for 12 years.

Republican adversary in the 2012 election

                                                                                                                     

President Obama's aide have exhausted weeks criticizing Mitt Romney, expecting him to be their Republican adversary in the 2012 election

Vice President Biden in the midst of a trip to Iraq, Turkey and Greece  took a poke at Gingrich yesterday, suggesting that the hot GOP presidential contender tends to overstate his importance.

"I don't want to sound like Newt Gingrich," Biden said about his meetings with Turkish Recep Tayyip Erdogan. "I don't want to sound like I'm inflating my importance or relationship with him." He said he had faced so many difficulty in his Prime Ministerpolitics life.