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


THE 2012 SCORE - TIMING IS EVERYTHING: Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels and Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, two of the biggest question marks of the 2012 cycle, said yesterday that they'll make up their minds about the presidential campaign by sometime this spring. And Daniels gave a newly specific, end-of-April deadline for making his decision, telling WANE-TV that it "has to come at the end of this General Assembly session, if not before. No later than that." The Indiana Legislature has to finish work by April 30, which leaves the governor several months to make the call. Daniels explained his thinking: "In fairness to people from all over the place -many of whom I've only read about before- who like this idea, I owe them some kind of an answer." Barbour's timetable remains vague, but in an interview with the Clarion-Ledger editorial board he said he feels "like I need to make a decision by this spring, and that's what I intend to do." Barbour, who's 63, said running for president would mean choosing "to spend the rest of your productive life doing this." http://bit.ly/emSIEn and http://bit.ly/e9BKEc


MORE - A campaign by either Daniels or Barbour would have the potential to reorder the presidential field, adding in an accomplished sitting governor (or two) with a national fundraising network. Both have been quieter of late, but yesterday's interviews show neither is looking to dial down speculation about 2012 just yet. Daniels didn't shy away from national issues in his interview, cautiously backing the federal tax cut compromise as a way to "at least keep taxes from going up." And by timing his decision to the legislative session, Daniels opens the door to winning new legislative victories before deciding on the presidential race: He announced last week that his ambitious legislative agenda will include a push for school reform. http://bit.ly/ftKF8T


As Deval Patrick takes another prize, Tarryl Clark fires a warning shot and the Herman Cain wave begins, here's POLITICO's Morning Score: your daily guide to the permanent campaign.


POPPING OVERNIGHT - THE RNC RACE: Wisconsin Republican Party Chairman Reince Priebus continues to add to the ranks of his supporters in the RNC race, picking up endorsements from California RNC Committeewoman Linda Ackerman and former North Dakota GOP Chairman Gary Emineth. In a message to members of the RNC, Ackerman and Iowa Committeeman Steve Scheffler - who endorsed Priebus earlier this week - wrote that the former RNC general counsel is "a winner ... a voice of reason ... We're convinced that Reince Priebus is the right choice to lead the RNC. He will bring a clear, vibrant and conservative message to the RNC." Emineth, a Michael Steele critic who left the committee earlier this year, praised Priebus as "the go to guy for members of the committee who ... wanted responses for the actions of the current administration. He knew he had a difficult job but did it with integrity." Priebus leads the field in announced support at this time, though the overwhelming majority of RNC members have yet to signal who they're backing.


THE BIG 2012 PICTURE - HALF EMPTY OR FULL? Americans are about evenly split on President Barack Obama's reelection campaign, with 42 percent saying they'll probably vote for him and 39 percent saying they're likely to support a Republican in a new NBC/Wall Street Journal poll. The good news for the White House, according to the Journal, is that "putting a specific Republican name into the question changes the picture. Mr. Obama leads former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney by seven percentage points, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin by 22 points, and Sen. John Thune of South Dakota by 20 points." http://on.wsj.com/fqYHsN


TODAY - THUNE'S N.H. INTRO: The South Dakota senator plans to appear this morning on the New Hampshire radio station WKXL, in a move clearly aimed at expanding his presence in the early primary state. Thune's home-state Rapid City Journal notes it's been a very presidential week for him: "[On Tuesday] he picked a fight with Mitt Romney, among others, over the tax cut deal. ... While Iowa is nearby South Dakota and shares many of the same issues, New Hampshire is another ballgame entirely, and it's hard to see why else Thune would be doing in an interview with a New Hampshire radio station other than to get himself in front of an important primary state." http://bit.ly/ifo4Qy


AND - GINGRICH GOES SOUTH: Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is scheduled to appear in South Carolina, where he'll headline a Christmas-themed fundraiser for the Spartanburg County Republican Party hosted by former state GOP Chairman Katon Dawson. In a pre-trip interview with the Spartanburg Herald-Journal, Gingrich talked up Republican Gov.-elect Nikki Haley as a national politician to watch: "Gov. Haley is going to be seen as a real reformer: her success story, the way she won the primary, the way she came back to win the general (election), the fact that - in many ways - she is building on Gov. Sanford's efforts to reform the state, but doing so in a more inclusive way." http://bit.ly/h2aiOA


LOOKING AHEAD - SAVE THE DATES: The number of announced GOP primary debates doubled Wednesday, as new face-offs were announced for the New Hampshire and South Carolina Republican primaries. Fox News and the South Carolina GOP plan to hold a debate on May 5 in Greenville, while ABC News and New Hampshire's WMUR-TV will co-host one between the Iowa caucuses and the Granite State primary. Those two events join an existing New Hampshire debate, scheduled for June by CNN, WMUR and the Union Leader, and a spring debate at the Reagan Library that will be co-hosted by POLITICO and NBC News. http://bit.ly/eBiq4m and http://abcn.ws/hh5xrX CHRISTIE SAYS 'YES' - To the White House-backed compromise on taxes, that is. A spokeswoman for the New Jersey governor released a statement weighing in on the decidedly federal issue, saying Christie "supports President Obama and Congressional Republicans' compromise which ensures that during this difficult economic time no American is subject to a tax increase on January 1st ... [I]f Nancy Pelosi and other Democratic lawmakers use this opportunity to insert additional, out of control spending measures, Governor Christie will oppose any bill amended in that way." For those keeping Score at home: That puts Christie in the camp of 2012 "yes" voters Gingrich, Daniels, Thune, Tim Pawlenty, Mike Huckabee and Ron Paul. The "no" votes are Romney, Sarah Palin, Mike Pence, Rick Santorum and Jim DeMint. http://bit.ly/h8BkoX


UMMM ... After several rounds of bracket-style voting on the conservative activist hub RedState, the righty blogosphere has tipped an early favorite for the GOP nomination: Former Godfather's Pizza CEO Herman Cain. Really! Erick Erickson explained: "He's a tremendously good speaker and a thoughtful conservative. He rejects the idea of "big government conservatism" and believes in empowering individuals. I like Herman Cain and, though truth be told I never thought he'd make it past Mike Pence ... I wouldn't too much stock into it, but I would say it is a good sign for Herman Cain that, being relatively unknown, he can generate that much enthusiasm for himself." http://bit.ly/hFkpYO


CLUBBING THE OMNIBUS: The Club for Growth came out strongly against the proposed end-of-year spending bill Wednesday, warning Republicans that they could face primary challenges if they support the legislation. Former Indiana Rep. Chris Chocola, who heads the Club, issued this statement: "Any congressional Republican who supports the Democratic leadership's porked-up monstrosity would forfeit any claim to fiscal responsibility and economic conservatism. Every Republican aye vote will likely face a serious primary challenge from the right in their next re-election campaign, and should." It's the second major legislative marker the Club for Growth has put down during the lame duck session, after coming out against the Bush tax cuts compromise.


CHICAGO WATCH - NOT CLOSE: Former White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel holds a 23-point lead over his nearest rivals in the Chicago mayor's race, all of whom continue to languish in the single-digit range. Thirty-two percent of voters back Emanuel in the Chicago Tribune/WGN-TV poll, compared with 9 percent each for Rep. Danny Davis and former public schools official Gery Chico, 7 percent for state Sen. James Meeks and 6 percent for ex-Sen. Carol Moseley Braun. If there's anything encouraging about the survey for the rest of the field, it's that Emanuel is far short of the 50-percent threshold to avoid a runoff election. http://bit.ly/e5aNPb


PLUS - TURNAROUND ARTIST: Public Policy Polling has dubbed Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick "the politician who improved his image with voters the best" in 2010, after the newly reelected Democratic recorded a 37-point improvement in his approval ratings. Last January, 22 percent of voters approved of Patrick's performance in PPP's polling and 59 percent disapproved. The firm's latest poll from the Bay State showed Patrick's numbers even at 45 percent. http://bit.ly/eYkgEL


GRUDGE MATCH BREWING? Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann and her unsuccessful 2010 challenger, Democratic state Sen. Tarryl Clark, are already sparring again over their campaign e-mail lists. After Bachmann sent out an appeal to supporters warning that Clark might be preparing another bid, the Democrat responded that Bachmann is "right to worry." Bachmann, Clark wrote, "spent more than $11 million ... and still won with one of the narrowest margins of victory of any Republican incumbent. In 2012, she will be facing a much different political landscape, and will have to explain to voters what exactly she and the Republican-controlled Congress did to improve the economy, help people find a job or stay in their homes, and care for our seniors, veterans and children." Clark added that right now she's focused on spending "quality time with friends and family."


THE WAY WE LIVE NOW - "Primary-election overhaul clears state high court" - The San Francisco Chronicle: "The state Supreme Court allowed California on Wednesday to go ahead with a voter-approved overhaul of primary elections, putting all candidates on the same ballot in the first round and matching the top two vote-getters, regardless of party, in the runoff. The justices unanimously denied a request to block the measure, Proposition 14, which takes effect in January. Prop. 14, which passed with a 54 percent majority in June, eliminates party primaries and instead requires all state and federal candidates, except those for president, to run in a single primary for each office. The top two finishers, who could both be from the same party, compete in the general election." http://bit.ly/h2mzXA


CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY: "People often ask me, 'What took so long?'" - U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade, announcing a fresh, 38-count indictment of former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick http://bit.ly/htbXXF

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