By MICHAEL FALCONE ( @michaelpfalcone )

NOTABLES

• OBAMA, BIDEN NO SHOWS IN PARIS: More than 40 foreign leaders marched arm-in-arm in support of France at the massive unity rally in Paris over the weekend, but President Obama and Vice President Biden were glaringly absent from the march and did not make it to the rally in Washington - just blocks from the White House, ABC's MARY BRUCE reports. The administration sent Attorney General Eric Holder and his deputy to Paris for substantive meetings in the wake of last week's attacks, but they were also no shows. The White House is pushing back against criticisms it was snub noting security concerns (even though the other leaders seemed to manage just fine) and highlighting the president's repeated remarks last week in the wake of the attacks and his visit to the French embassy in D.C. Secretary of State John Kerry called the pushback "quibbling" and has announced plans to visit France on Thursday to reaffirm U.S. solidarity with its oldest ally. WATCH Jon Karl's "Good Morning" America report on how the president's team is explaining the absence: http://abcn.ws/1KBGDVi

• FIVE STORIES YOU'LL CARE ABOUT IN POLITICS THIS WEEK: All of a sudden presidential candidates are hugging people. The fighting will come later, surely, but this is the time for making nice - at least with donors, until or unless Jeb Bush wraps them up. Some old fights are becoming new, one old fighter has new bruises, old faces are writing new books, and new presidential ideas will be old by the time the president actually outlines them on national television. ABC's RICK KLEIN gives a glimpse of some of the stories your ABC News political team will be tracking this week: http://abcn.ws/17wBnTJ

• CUBA RELEASES 53 POLITICAL PRISONERS AS PROMISED: The Obama administration confirms that Cuba has released all 53 political prisoners that they promised to free as part of the deal to re-establish diplomatic relations with the U.S., ABC's DEVIN DWYER reports. "The Cuban Government has notified us that they have completed the release of the 53 political prisoners that they had committed to free," National Security Council spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan said in a statement. "We welcome this very positive development and are pleased that the Cuban Government followed through on this commitment."

ANALYSIS

ABC's RICK KLEIN: On one level, the GOP presidential pool is getting crowded with big fish. With Jeb Bush and Mitt Romney expressing their interest, the competition is suddenly fierce for bundlers and other big-dollar - if not big-name - supporters. That has an inevitable impact on the rest of the field, thinning as it does the ranks of people who can deliver the kind of money it takes to run for president. But in another way, Bush and Romney open up a whole bunch of space - for new names. A field that includes Bush and Romney, not to mention Mike Huckabee and Rick Santorum, has plenty of room for fresh faces. The emerging field will feature more than an establishment/non-establishment dynamic. For a party desperate to win back the White House, it will also be about what President Obama has called the "new car smell" voters tend to favor. Bush or even Romney could wind up capturing the nomination. But it's not likely to be because the elbow other potential nominees out of the race before it starts.

THE BUZZ

with ABC's VERONICA STRACQUALURSI

ATTORNEY GENERAL ERIC HOLDER: DAVID PETRAEUS INVESTIGATION WILL BE HANDLED FAIRLY. Attorney General Eric Holder said on "This Week" the ongoing investigation into former CIA Director Gen. David Petraeus over classified information he allegedly shared with his biographer and former lover Paula Broadwell would be conducted fairly, even as details of the investigation appeared to have leaked to The New York Times. ABC's BENJAMIN BELL reports, following the report, Senators John McCain, R-Ariz., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said in a mutual statement: "It is a shameful continuation of a pattern in which leaks by unnamed sources have marred this investigation in contravention to fundamental fairness. No American deserves such callous treatment, let alone one of America's finest military leaders." In response to the senators' statement, Holder said, "I can't really comment on what is an ongoing matter. But I will say that I share those concerns expressed by two senators who I have a great deal of respect for." http://abcn.ws/14Jc3sv

8 FAMOUS NAMES WHO MIGHT RUN FOR SENATE IN CALIFORNIA. Veteran Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer announced her retirement last week, leaving California with an open Senate seat in 2016 - the first time in more than two decades. Not surprisingly, rumors are already starting to circulate about Golden State political figures who are likely to make a run for it: Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, California Attorney General Kamala Harris, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and billionaire environmentalist Tom Steyer to name just a few. ABC's VERONICA STRACQUALURSI and BEN SIEGEL note in a state that's home to both Hollywood and Silicon Valley, there are at least a few other famous Californians who might be interested in filling Boxer's seat. http://abcn.ws/1BLlunp

EXCLUSIVE: CHRIS CHRISTIE WAS INTERROGATED BY FEDS OVER BRIDGE SCANDAL. Gov. Chris Christie, a potential presidential contender, was interrogated recently by federal investigators probing the 2013 lane-closure scandal that has threatened his political future, officials confirmed to ABC News. Christie met with federal prosecutors and FBI agents last month during a secret session at the New Jersey governor's mansion in Princeton. According to ABC's JOSH MARGOLIN, he agreed to sit down with investigators voluntarily after they offered him a chance to provide his side of the story. Interviewing Christie was one of the final steps in the investigation, which appears to be wrapping up, according to those briefed on it. The New Jersey US Attorney's Office and the FBI have spent a year investigating the September 2013 closing of access lanes at the George Washington Bridge, which caused unprecedented traffic jams for the better part of a week and crippled Fort Lee, where the GWB is anchored in New Jersey. http://abcn.ws/1Axu6fO

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

A LOOK BACK AT CONGRESS' OPENING WEEK IN 7 AWKWARD GIFS. Congress returned to Washington last week, and things got awkward - fast. If a picture is worth a thousand words, a GIF must be worth about 100,000. ABC's ERIN DOOLEY highlights seven GIFs that sum up the 114th Congress' first week on the Hill, as Republicans took control of both the House and the Senate. http://abcn.ws/1tRKZwS

WHO'S TWEETING?

@JohnKerry: Just landed in #Pakistan. Mtgs w NSA Aziz & PM Sharif tonight to discuss security, shared fight against extremism, US-Pakistan relationship.

@KenOliverMendez: Brent Bozell's column in Roll Call: Republican Party Has a Mandate to Lead http://www.rollcall.com/news/republican_party_has_a_mandate_to_lead-239162-1.html …

@PRyan: . @GovChristie, do you need a hug now? #GoPackGo #WinninginWisco

@KatrinaNation: Check out @thenation 150th birthday events: Around the country- forums, film, debates, parties, theatrical doings/ http://www.thenation.com/events

@JimDeMint: I'll speaking today at the @Heritage_Action Conservative Policy Summit. You can watch the full event LIVE: http://bit.ly/1tZmpdq #opp4all