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By Alexander Burns (@aburnspolitico, aburns@politico.com)


BREAKING OVERNIGHT - ALASKA SIREN: Republican Senate candidate Joe Miller is asking a federal court to intervene in Alaska's election, to block Sen. Lisa Murkowski from being certified as the winner. AP: "Miller's lawsuit claims Alaska law requires voters to write in a candidate's name as it appears on a declaration of candidacy, or the last name of the candidate, to cast valid ballots. Alaska Lt. Gov. Craig Campbell, who oversees the Division of Elections, has said voter intent would drive acceptance of ballots and that previous court cases had supported that policy. ...Murkowski has a lead of about 10,400 votes. Miller had challenged 8,153 of the ballots counted for Murkowski, but he would still be behind even if he won every challenge."


MORE - THE CATCH: "Miller in an affidavit Thursday said the Division of Elections began its hand count of write-in ballots a week earlier than scheduled. 'Consequently, my campaign team and I were forced to pull together volunteer observers at the last minute, and did not have time to adequately and fully recruit and train them before counting began,' he said. 'As a result, an indeterminate number of ballots with candidates' names misspelled were counted without being challenged during the first several days of counting.' Miller said he intends to request a re-count." Murkowski declared victory Wednesday night and the state Republican Party has called on Miller to end his campaign; state GOP Chairman Randy Ruedrich e-mailed Score before Miller's legal action yesterday, declaring the election results mean "Alaska retains its senior senator with 8 years seniority. Alaska's senior senator is a Republican." http://bit.ly/b3xcX4


As Harry Reid stalls, Roland Burris reflects and Rick Santorum plays McLean, here's POLITICO's Morning Score: your daily guide to the permanent campaign.


FRIDAY STANDINGS - BETTER OFF NOW? The U.S. Senate has two new members, the White House has one less bipartisan summit and Thanksgiving is six days away. At the end of the last full political week in November, here's how Morning Score thinks some of the top politicos should answer the question: Are you better off now than you were seven days ago?


BETTER OFF: (1) New York Reps. Tim Bishop and Dan Maffei, both of whom cut their GOP challengers' leads by several hundred votes in late ballot-counting, leaving them trailing by smaller margins (272 for Bishop and 303 for Maffei) and at least slightly increasing the odds of a comeback win for one or the other; (2) The Nevada press corps, which seemed in for a letdown after a spectacular 2010 cycle in the state - and then learned this week that Sen. John Ensign still plans to campaign for reelection; (3) Everyone who's ever wanted to be RNC chair, from former state party chiefs like Saul Anuzis and Ann Wagner, to ex-officeholders like Frank Keating and Norm Coleman, to operatives like Maria Cino and Nick Ayers -- all of whom have a better shot at the up-for-grabs job than they did last week, before the spectacular resignation of RNC political director Gentry Collins.


WORSE OFF: (1) New York Rep. Charlie Rangel, who cheated political death in a September Democratic primary and clawed his way to reelection, but couldn't escape a censure from the House Ethics Committee this week; (2) Indiana Sen. Richard Lugar, who's already in a defensive posture for his reelection campaign, releasing internals that show encouraging favorability numbers - among all voters, rather than GOP primary voters; (3) Joe Miller, who stunned the political world by wresting the GOP nomination from a sitting senator - and then lost (apparently) to the same opponent campaigning as a write-in candidate. Just pause and let that sink in.


PROGRAMMING NOTE - Ten months to the day after its first edition, Morning Score is going on a brief hiatus for the Thanksgiving holiday. We'll be back in your inboxes on Nov. 29, before the sun rises ...


BUT FIRST - COMING ATTRACTION: The liberal group Americans United for Change is unveiling a five-figure TV buy today, criticizing the Bush tax cuts and labeling Republicans as a party of Wall Street fat-cats. The spot - airing this weekend and then before the White House summit with GOP leadership later this month - shows two well-dressed men drinking cognac in a well-appointed room, over a copy of Karl Rove's book, "Courage and Consequence." "Sure, we'll cut the deficit - right after we get out $700 billion tax cuts," one man says. "And as for jobs, don't worry, chumps: we're going to create tons of them." The second man adds: "In Asia!" The commercial ends: "Don't let them win again. No more tax cuts for millionaires." Watch it here: http://bit.ly/aiCGzh


MOVIN' ON UP: The Republican Governors Association filled out its leadership team at its conference in San Diego Thursday, tapping Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell to serve as vice chairman and putting Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, New Mexico Gov.-elect Susana Martinez and South Carolina Gov.-elect Nikki Haley in other positions on the RGA's executive committee. That's almost a who's-who of the RGA's star recruit list. Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who was previously elected to serve as the committee's chairman, said in a statement that Republican governors aim to "make Washington less consequential in Americans' lives, enabling the states to be laboratories of innovation, competing against one another for the best ideas and not beholden to federal dictates."THE 2012 SCORE - BRING IT ON: Vice President Joe Biden told CNN's "Larry King Live" that Sarah Palin has a "good chance of getting the nomination" for president in 2012, adding: "I like her. ... I mean, if you met her, she's an appealing person." Biden continued, confidently: "You know, my mom used to have an expression, be careful what you wish for, Joe, you may get it. So I never underestimate anyone. But I think, in that race, it would be a clear, clear choice for the country to make, and I believe President Obama would be in very good shape."


NO RUSH - "Romney eyes smaller footprint, later start for 2012" - POLITICO's Kasie Hunt: "Romney is letting donors know it'll be a while before he looks to 2012 - and that any presidential campaign he builds will have a much smaller staff than in 2008. 'People are exhausted from the 2010 election, and they're not anxious to begin right away with the next campaign,' Romney told 245 of his top financial supporters on a conference call Thursday ... The rationale, as Romney explained it: In 2008, he was a little-known figure who had to spend millions on a large organization if he was to compete against Arizona Sen. John McCain for the Republican nomination. ... This time, January and February will come and go without an announcement, he told his supporters - and he can plan a leaner staff because he's now a leading national Republican figure and needs a team that can hang on through a prolonged primary campaign amid a crowded GOP field." http://politi.co/aBjCPv


SPOTTED - SANTORUM OUTSIDE AN EARLY STATE: Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, last seen camped out in Iowa and New Hampshire, will headline the Republican Party of Virginia's annual gala in McLean tomorrow.


IT'S AN ARMS RACE: So much for getting rid of those shadowy outside groups. In New Hampshire, Democrats are loading their own non-disclosing guns: The Union Leader reports that former state Democratic Party Chairwoman Kathy Sullivan plans to launch a 501(c)4 group before the end of the year. "It appears to be an effort to counter Cornerstone Action, Americans for Job Security and Americans for Prosperity, which played big time in the recent elections. But Sullivan says it's not a direct response. 'The big difference is that this will be a fact-based group,' she said. 'I look at this as pragmatic and progressive, which is the New Hampshire way. ... I've been speaking with a lot of friends and colleagues from Shaheen, Lynch and Clinton efforts who agree that New Hampshire needs a strong organization to provide a reasoned, fact-based analysis of issues important to New Hampshire.'" http://bit.ly/a9TuwJ


SHE'S BA-ACK: Defeated Senate candidate and pro wrestling entrepreneur Linda McMahon will be returning to Connecticut television screens in a matter of days, WSFB's Dennis House reports: "Look for McMahon in your living rooms next week in a new television spot thanking those who voted for her. The ads will run Tuesday." McMahon told House she hasn't ruled out another campaign, and the host of "Face the State" floats a possible 2012 race right out of political reporters' dreams: "We in the media love a good race, and this three way contest would have journalists salivating: Ted Kennedy, Junior for the Democrats, McMahon for the Republicans and Lieberman the independent." http://bit.ly/9wT0tl


REID KICKS THE CAN - The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee may not have a leader until the end of the year - or even later. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid told reporters Thursday there's "no rush" to pick a successor for New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez, The Hill reports. "We've had a lot of progress," said Reid, who has made overtures to several senators about the chairmanship. http://bit.ly/bYCcis


CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY: "I mean it is a great group ... I found it just so, something that I really wanted to do and really had a chance to do, and I am so thankful to God I had a chance to do it, spend time in the United States Senate." - Illinois Sen. Roland Burris, reflecting on his tenure in an interview with Lynn Sweet of the Chicago Sun-Times http://bit.ly/bNTecm

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