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


FIRST IN SCORE - ASHCROFT ENDORSES: Former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft is backing Ann Wagner's bid to lead the Republican National Committee, telling RNC members in a newly cut video that "now, more than ever, the Republican National Committee needs strong, decisive, strategic leadership." "During [Wagner's] time as state chairman of Missouri, wonderful things happened for Missouri as a result of strong leadership in the Republican Party," says Ashcroft, a former Missouri governor and senator. "It was a pleasure for me to be able to call upon her and to count upon her because she knew how to win. She knew how to work. She knew how to raise the resources necessary." Watch the video here: http://bit.ly/dJcfWx


BREAKING IN CHICAGO - "Emanuel meets Chicago residency rule for mayoral race," from Bloomberg's Tim Jones and John McCormick: "Rahm Emanuel, President Barack Obama's former chief of staff, meets the residency requirement to run for mayor of Chicago, a hearing officer said. The recommendation from Joseph A. Morris, who last week presided over a three-day public hearing on the legality of Emanuel's candidacy, is non-binding. It will be considered by the Board of Election Commissioners for the City of Chicago later today. At issue is whether Emanuel meets the requirement of having lived in Chicago for one year before the election. 'The candidate in 2009 and 2010 did not abandon his status as a resident of Chicago, and so remained a resident of Chicago,' Morris wrote in his opinion." http://bit.ly/hcCnJw


As the Alaska Supreme Court rules, Patty Murray starts hiring and the GOP finds a new class of rogues, here's POLITICO's Morning Score: your daily guide to the permanent campaign.


PROGRAMMING NOTICE: Morning Score is going on hiatus for the holidays, starting tomorrow, and will return immediately after New Year's. So even though it's not technically the end of the week, it's time for an early round of...


FRIDAY STANDINGS - THURSDAY EDITION: The next time you get this e-mail, it'll be 2011. The new Congress will be preparing to get sworn in and the countdown to the first presidential campaign announcements will be ticking away. For now, here's Morning Score's take on how the top leaders and legislators in both parties should answer the question: Are you better off now than you were seven days ago?


BETTER OFF: (1) House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, whose last-minute flurry of legislative action strengthened the political narrative Pelosi laid out this week: Yes, Democrats have paid a price for their accomplishments, but it was all worth it; (2) Republican mavericks, including Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Scott Brown of Massachusetts, Susan Collins of Maine and Mark Kirk of Illinois, who showed just how influential they can be in the lame duck session by giving decisive support to measures like the "don't ask, don't tell" repeal and the START treaty - and previewing the kind of negotiation and diplomacy we'll see even more of in the 112th Congress; (3) Indiana Rep. Mike Pence, whose political options got even better when Lt. Gov. Becky Skillman announced she won't mount a gubernatorial run in 2012, clearing the way for Pence to claim the GOP nomination if he opts against running for president.


WORSE OFF: (1) Arizona Sen. Jon Kyl, who made himself the face of opposition to START and lost, and now must contend with growing skepticism about whether he'll campaign for a fourth term in 2012; (2) Ohio Democrats, whose state is one of the two top losers in congressional reapportionment (along with New York), and who will have little say in how a tough new House map gets drawn thanks to Republican victories on the state level this fall; (3) Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, whose tone-deaf comments on the civil rights movement are now likely to be high up in any major story on his presidential aspirations, regardless of how he handles the issue going forward.


NO. 100 - THE END? The last unresolved race of 2010 took a giant leap toward the finish line last night, when the Alaska Supreme Court unanimously upheld Sen. Lisa Murkowski's write-in reelection win. In their decision, the justices issued this death sentence to Republican challenger Joe Miller's legal prospects: "There are no remaining issues raised by Miller that prevent this election from being certified." The Anchorage Daily News reports: "The Supreme Court found that the Alaska Division of Elections was right to count misspelled write-in ballots for Murkowski. 'Voter intent is paramount and any misspelling, abbreviation or other minor variation ...does not invalidate a ballot so long as the intention of the voter can be ascertained," the Supreme Court said in its ruling.' ... The Supreme Court also dismissed Miller's suggestions of election fraud, finding that he hasn't proven misconduct." http://bit.ly/ebfIcQ


MORE - WHAT'S NEXT: This isn't necessarily the end of the road for Miller, who hasn't ruled out taking his case to the U.S. Supreme Court. But the Alaska decision paves the way for the state to formally name Murkowski the victor - a move that's been halted by a district court's injunction. Murkowski's camp responded to yesterday's ruling with a combination of jubilation and passive aggressiveness. "We anticipated today's decision by the Supreme Court, but are elated nonetheless," campaign manager Kevin Sweeney said in a statement. "We also anticipate that Joe will continue to pursue his baseless claims in federal court until his money runs out."THE 2012 SCORE - "GOP contenders skipping Hispanic conference" - POLITICO's Carrie Budoff Brown: "It was billed, in part, as a forum for the 2012 Republican presidential field to speak directly to Hispanics ... Yet, when former Gov. Jeb Bush, former Sen. Norm Coleman and former Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez open the first Hispanic Leadership Network conference next month in Miami, the only potential presidential candidate confirmed to attend - so far - is Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney declined the invite. So did South Dakota Sen. John Thune, Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels and Texas Gov Rick Perry. Newt Gingrich is 'amenable' to attending, but hasn't committed yet, his spokesman said. ... A poor showing could raise doubts about the commitment of Republicans to court Hispanics, one of the open-ended questions of the 2012 presidential cycle. Jim Landry, spokesman for the American Action Network, which created the Hispanic group, said the organizers extended invites to the entire presidential field, but it was never the main reason for holding the conference." http://politi.co/eKFQJW


NOT FOR SALE: Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee is shooting down speculation that negotiations over a lucrative new Fox contract might keep him out of the 2012 presidential mix. Conservative pundit Jonah Goldberg floated a rumor in his column this week that Huckabee was in high-dollar talks with the network, prompting Huck PAC executive director Hogan Gidley to respond: "Mr. Goldberg should let Governor Huckabee in on that, since the Governor is not aware of any current 'negotiations.'" http://politi.co/eobdRs


RIGHT GUY FOR THE JOB: The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee is bringing in Guy Cecil to serve as its executive director for the 2012 cycle, installing an operative dubbed "a singular talent" by DSCC Chair Patty Murray. Cecil's bio: "Guy arrives to the Committee after serving as Chief of Staff to Senator Michael Bennet (D-CO). ...Previously, Guy was the National Political and Field Director for Hillary Clinton's campaign for President and was the Political Director for the DSCC from 2005-2007 when Democrats won the Senate majority. In 2002, Guy was the Coordinated Campaign Director for Mark Pryor." The National Republican Senatorial Committee previously announced that its current executive director, Rob Jesmer, will stay on through 2012.


MORE FROM THE RNC - PAYBACK: Indiana RNC Committeeman Jim Bopp has endorsed Wisconsin's Reince Priebus in the chairman's race, throwing his support to Michael Steele's leading challenger days after the incumbent chairman called Bopp an "idiot" during a radio interview. Priebus, Bopp said, "understands that we need more active RNC member participation and that members need to be empowered to hold the leadership accountable. ... It was a close decision, particularly between Saul and Reince, since I think Ann has an insurmountable difficulty reaching a majority of the votes, because of our unfair gender requirement for Co-Chairman."


WRAPPING 2010 - WHO TO TRUST: Some pollsters did considerably better this year than others and the polling firm American Research Group has gone through the trouble of figuring out exactly who produced the midterm campaign's most accurate data. ARG analyzed 11 prominent pollsters and polling aggregators, using an accuracy test proposed in a paper for the American Association for Public Opinion Research. Clip and save these rankings, listed from most accurate to least accurate: (1) YouGov/Polimetrix, (2) SurveyUSA, (3) RealClearPolitics, (4) FiveThirtyEight, (5) Pollster.com, (6) Public Policy Polling, (7) Fox News, (8) Quinnipiac, (9) CNN/Time, (10) The Hill and (11) Rasmussen Reports. More on the methodology and results here: http://bit.ly/fQh6qX


BIG BEYOND BERGEN: New Jersey Gov. Christie has one more credential that will play better nationally than it will in the Garden State, after commuting the sentence of a man convicted of illegal handgun possession. Chris Megerian reports from Trenton: "[Brian] Aitken, 27, became a cause celebre for gun advocates when he was arrested last year in Mount Laurel for possession of three handguns he legally purchased in Colorado but didn't have a carry permit for in New Jersey. Tuesday, the 'Free Brian Aitken' Facebook page was overflowing with well-wishers. ...His release also drew national attention to Christie, who was widely praised by gun advocates. 'On behalf of the 4 million members of the National Rifle Association of America, I would like to thank Governor Christie for freeing Brian Aitken in time to spend the holiday with his family,' Chris W. Cox, executive director of the NRA Institute for Legislative Action, said in a statement. Christie has not detailed his decision, saying Tuesday, 'I felt that justice required a commutation of his sentence.'" http://bit.ly/i5hZQJ


CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY: "She is charming and very likable. ... It does not scare me because I believe in the intelligence of the American public." - Oprah Winfrey, on Sarah Palin http://bit.ly/fekFZn

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