Jeffrey LewisHayden Beat Sweetner in the Ballmer Sun

Look for Siobhan Gorman of the Baltimore Sun to break some big intelligence stories out of the DNI’s office in future—she gives DDNI General Michael V. Hayden some sugary lovin’ in a classic beat sweetner today:

Michael V. Hayden sets his alarm for 4:30 a.m. That way, he can fit in a five-mile run to clear his mind before heading to work as the nation’s No. 2 intelligence official.

A hard-driving Air Force general, Hayden is the self-described “inside guy” on the team running the new intelligence office. His partner, and boss, is John D. Negroponte, the director of national intelligence, overseeing all 15 federal intelligence agencies, including the CIA and the National Security Agency, which Hayden formerly led.

“We’re interchangeable,” Hayden said in his first interview since taking the job in April. About one morning a week, Hayden fills in for Negroponte at President Bush’s daily intelligence briefing, usually held in the Oval Office at the start of the president’s work day.

Huh? What’s a beat sweetener? (more)