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By James Hohmann (
mailto:jhohmann@politico.com
jhohmann@politico.com ; Twitter: @jameshohmann)

SCORE TAKING A DECEMBER HIATUS: With campaign talk in a temporary lull and the focus now on the impending fiscal cliff, Morning Score will go on "vacation" next month. Continue to monitor POLITICO.com for the latest on the 2013 governor's races, the 2014 battle for Congress and 2016 machinations. Thank you for your loyal readership. Happy holidays.

"KARL ROVE jokes that he is no longer suicidal after the November election - he's merely despondent. Rove was in Wichita ... to speak at the 100th convention of the Kansas Livestock Association," according to a report on KFDI, a local radio station. "Rove said the Republican party is splintered because of intolerant and judgmental language and an unwillingness to acknowledge differences." He called Crossroads the "worst volunteer job" he's had his entire life. Story/audio:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=f669cc7820375f9c1fed5ef4f3d374a20427815f1ae2e41a84e9c5c2fb73c036
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=f669cc7820375f9c1fed5ef4f3d374a20427815f1ae2e41a84e9c5c2fb73c036 .

MIKE MURPHY WORRIES GOP WILL TAKE WRONG LESSON FROM 2014 GAINS: "Republicans tend to be more competitive in off-year elections, when voter turnout is far lower than in presidential years and the electorate is therefore older, whiter and more Republican," the GOP consultant writes in Time Magazine. "It is possible for the GOP to do well in 2014, especially because so many vulnerable Democratic Senators in GOP-leaning states face re-election. But like the Republican off-year successes of 2010, a few non-presidential-year victories, while welcome, would also provide the GOP with a highly misleading dead-cat bounce. The electorate in 2016 will look much like the electorate this year, albeit
even more Hispanic and more challenging for the GOP."

WHAT'S NEXT? "The struggles of the Democratic Party in its wilderness years from 1968 to 1992 provide two possible answers," Mike continues. "Will the GOP, like the Democrats of 1992, find a path to pivot toward electability and the actual governing power that goes with it? Or will today's Republicans act like the Democrats of 1972, who reacted to the defeat of Establishment favorite Hubert Humphrey in 1968 by nominating George McGovern, a purist candidate from its far left?"
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=f669cc7820375f9cf28f5e0155a9900304c5b30c2131391e6a885d2cc2c70b69
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=f669cc7820375f9cf28f5e0155a9900304c5b30c2131391e6a885d2cc2c70b69

TED CRUZ SAYS 47% DROVE MORE LATINOS AWAY THAN IMMIGRATION: "Republicans nationally, the story we conveyed was that 47 percent are stuck in a static world," Texas' senator-elect said at the conservative American Principles Project dinner last night. "We don't have to worry about you, what that clip famously said. I cannot think of an idea more antithetic to the American principle. We embraced in that comment, and in the narrative we made to this country, the Democrat notion that there is a fixed and static pie. ... The rich are the rich, the poor are the poor, and all that matters is redistributing from one to the other. The essence of the conservative message should be we want a dynamic
nation where anybody with nothing can achieve anything."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=f669cc7820375f9c2d1306f1733deb3637b35454b43408810adf007969a9cd36
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=f669cc7820375f9c2d1306f1733deb3637b35454b43408810adf007969a9cd36

LESSONS LEARNED?-ROMNEY ADVISERS CLAIM "THE DEATH OF 'MEDISCARE'": "Republicans fought Democrats to a draw on the issue of Medicare," Dan Senor and Peter Wehner write in an op-ed for today's Wall Street Journal. "That was supposed to be impossible. Republicans were warned that if their nominee made even sympathetic noises about Medicare reform, it would be politically poisonous." They write about counter-attacking the president, accusing him of cutting more than $700 billion from the program and Paul Ryan proactively reassuring those 55 and older. "The campaign showed Republicans that it pays to deal with attacks head-on rather than run from them...and that calm, persistent and
well-reasoned arguments can overcome demagoguery," they write. "Messrs. Romney and Ryan may have lost, but in the process they provided Republicans with an invaluable lesson and a blueprint for future elections."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=f669cc7820375f9c2b6184d0b0a744c303560598e6f18aa83fc188d13b608017
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=f669cc7820375f9c2b6184d0b0a744c303560598e6f18aa83fc188d13b608017

As Tim Johnson sounds likelier to run again in South Dakota, Jay Nixon maneuvers himself for a 2016 run now that he's been reelected in Missouri and Elizabeth Warren copes with the loss of her dog, here's POLITICO's Morning Score: your daily guide to the permanent campaign.

DAYBOOK-

OBAMA in PENNSYLVANIA: In the morning, the President will travel to Hatfield, Pennsylvania. From the White House: "The President will continue making the case for action by visiting a business that depends on middle class consumers during the holiday season, and could be impacted if taxes go up on 98 percent of Americans at the end of the year. The President will tour and deliver remarks at The Rodon Group manufacturing facility, the sole American manufacturer for K'NEX Brands, a construction toy company whose products include Tinkertoy, K'NEX Building Sets and Angry Bird Building Sets." He leaves at 10:10, speaks at 12:05 and arrives back at the White House at 3. Josh Earnest will gaggle
aboard Air Force One.

BIDEN in MEXICO: The Vice President will travel to Mexico City this afternoon. In the evening, he will attend a dinner hosted by President Felipe Calderon of Mexico at the National Palace. On Saturday at 9:30 AM CT, the Vice President will meet with President Juan Manuel Santos of Colombia. At 11 CT, the Vice President will attend the inaugural speech of President Enrique Pena Nieto of Mexico at the National Palace. Then he'll go to a lunch for him and get a sit-down.

LUNCH AT THE WHITE HOUSE-Readout of the President's Lunch with Governor Romney: "President Obama and Governor Romney visited for an hour over lunch in the Private Dining Room adjacent to the Oval Office.Governor Romney congratulated the President for the success of his campaign and wished him well over the coming four years. The focus of their discussion was on America's leadership in the world and the importance of maintaining that leadership position in the future.They pledged to stay in touch, particularly if opportunities to work together on shared interests arise in the future.Their lunch menu included white turkey chili and Southwestern grilled chicken salad." White House photo of
Romney & Obama in the Oval Office:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=f669cc7820375f9c81be75cda53772aa15e31e4c8c77ca2670a5e521bd8ea013
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=f669cc7820375f9c81be75cda53772aa15e31e4c8c77ca2670a5e521bd8ea013 .

POLLING-

PPP-QUINN VULNERABLE IN ILLINOIS: "If Pat Quinn is the Democratic candidate for Governor of Illinois in 2014 Democrats may have a hard time holding onto the office," writes Democratic pollster Tom Jensen. "Only 25% of voters in the state approve of the job he's doing to 64% who disapprove, making him the most unpopular Governor PPP has polled on anywhere in the country this year. Quinn would trail in hypothetical match ups against Republican State Senator Kirk Dillard (44/37) and Treasurer Dan Rutherford (43/39). He would top Congressman Aaron Schock only narrowly, 40/39."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=f669cc7820375f9c08a44c34cff5e5741dcf2456353ad9e99d7b08866ed24034
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=f669cc7820375f9c08a44c34cff5e5741dcf2456353ad9e99d7b08866ed24034

PPP-NEW JERSEY DEMS WOULD PREFER BOOKER TO LAUTENBERG: "Democratic primary voters are pretty happy with Lautenberg right now too. 63% approve of the job he's doing to 18% who disapprove. Nevertheless they're ready for a fresher face in the Senate. Only 36% of them think Lautenberg should seek another term in 2014, while 45% think he should retire and 20% are not sure. If Lautenberg was to retire- or even if he doesn't- the choice of New Jersey Democrats to be their next Senator is clear: Cory Booker. By a 59/22 margin Democrats say they would prefer their candidate in 2014 be Booker than Lautenberg." Toplines:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=f669cc7820375f9cc79d7e6be66133af01fd59ab9027cd11872bf367ece7c3d4
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=f669cc7820375f9cc79d7e6be66133af01fd59ab9027cd11872bf367ece7c3d4 . Booker is going on food stamps for one week, starting next Tuesday:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=f669cc7820375f9c0c53a4a9e7205ba7aee4dd3b40fd4d843b946de9aba57b4e
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=f669cc7820375f9c0c53a4a9e7205ba7aee4dd3b40fd4d843b946de9aba57b4e .

CBS NATIONAL-AMERICA DIVIDED ON MARIJUANA: 47 percent support legalizing marijuana, and 47 percent think it should remain prohibited. 51 percent of Democrats and 55 percent of independents support legalizing marijuana, 66 percent of Republicans oppose it.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=f669cc7820375f9c545ab0da671d884f05358b9726f86992eb0f7974b4e00895
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=f669cc7820375f9c545ab0da671d884f05358b9726f86992eb0f7974b4e00895

TNR gets a hold of the final internal Romney polling numbers:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8151c8f2c8bc8ea7e67b608469f32daafd1af36a0d726bd1058d4d2c2d2cba3e
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8151c8f2c8bc8ea7e67b608469f32daafd1af36a0d726bd1058d4d2c2d2cba3e .

DEAL UNLIKELY-IMMIGRATION KUMBAYA HITS REALITY IN CONGRESS: Republicans in Congress can't agree on what to do, Seung Min Kim reports. "Some want piecemeal reform, picking off the most popular planks and leaving the tough stuff - like whether to give millions of illegal immigrants a path to citizenship - for later. Others side with Democrats in saying only a comprehensive deal will get at the problem. The same rifts that existed long before the election are still there...there's scant evidence that the deal that looked so promising on Nov. 7 will materialize."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8151c8f2c8bc8ea76a327c78d046840eabe00f2c98c3b227dcebf98bebc69468
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8151c8f2c8bc8ea76a327c78d046840eabe00f2c98c3b227dcebf98bebc69468

MASSACHUSETTS SEPCIAL--GOP RALLIES BEHIND KERRY FOR STATE: "As President Obama's potential nominee for secretary of state, Susan E. Rice, comes under increasing fire, Congressional Republicans appear to be coalescing around a familiar name as an alternative candidate: their current colleague and former presidential foe, Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts," The New York Times' Jennifer Steinhauer reports. "Gone are the criticisms of Mr. Kerry as a waffler who tried to have it both ways on the Iraq war and the caricature of him as a windsurfing symbol of privileged East Coast liberalism. Instead, Mr. Kerry, a Democrat, is depicted as a deeply knowledgeable statesman who would breeze through
confirmation on his way to Foggy Bottom." Talk about a story you would NOT have predicted in Nov. 2004:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8151c8f2c8bc8ea75bcea33a651dc49123be807db101d77d4009393b6d449f2b
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8151c8f2c8bc8ea75bcea33a651dc49123be807db101d77d4009393b6d449f2b . The Washington Post says "Rice holds stakes in firms that have business in Iran."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8151c8f2c8bc8ea70a7a74add080453b5cd0ee5337a27021a6761f4da95ae356
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8151c8f2c8bc8ea70a7a74add080453b5cd0ee5337a27021a6761f4da95ae356

2013-BOLLING REFUSING TO BACK CUCCINELLI: "Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling refused to endorse former rival Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli in the Virginia governor's race Thursday and wouldn't rule out running against Cuccinelli as a third-party independent," The Washington Examiner reports. 'I'm a loyal soldier [for the Republican Party], but I'm going to do what I think is right for Virginia,' Bolling said. 'I know that will make some people uneasy or unhappy, but at the end of the day, I've got to do what I think is right, and right now I'm not comfortable making an endorsement...In my heart, I didn't think we had a chance of winning." Bolling said he has 'no current
intentions' to enter the race as an independent, but he also didn't rule out such a run.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8151c8f2c8bc8ea724b2f039f7f763f5a57c86e1f35ce8caea2d89d0937ea5ba
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8151c8f2c8bc8ea724b2f039f7f763f5a57c86e1f35ce8caea2d89d0937ea5ba

STATE GOP CHAIR ADMONISHES HIM IN STATEMENT: "I am disappointed by Lt. Governor Bolling's remarks over the past 48 hours," Pat Mullins wrote last night. "Nowhere in his statements does he mention a policy disagreement with the Attorney General...The proper venue for challenging a fellow Republican is during a nomination contest. Lt. Governor Bolling chose to suspend his campaign."

2014-

SOUTH DAKOTA-ROUNDS MAKES RUN OFFICIAL: "Former South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds announced his run Thursday for the U.S. Senate, pledging to take fiscally conservative South Dakota values to Washington, D.C., in a spirit of compromise rather than confrontation," the Rapid City Journal reports. "Rounds, a 58-year-old Republican from Fort Pierre who served 10 years in the South Dakota Senate before winning two terms as governor, also pledged to run an issue-oriented campaign that wouldn't resort to demonizing his opponents... [Three-term Democratic Sen. Tim Johnson] came close to announcing his own re-election bid Thursday in response to Rounds' announcement."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8151c8f2c8bc8ea72f9f85dc31a5b0396d7eaf017a3002d8df5d4f81d57acef2
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8151c8f2c8bc8ea72f9f85dc31a5b0396d7eaf017a3002d8df5d4f81d57acef2

NEW HAMPSHIRE-GUINTA MIGHT CHALLENGE SHAHEEN: "Outgoing Rep. Frank Guinta, R-N.H., will consider running statewide in 2014, perhaps challenging Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen," Roll Call reports. "My name comes up for Senate, House and governor," Guinta told the paper yesterday. "Obviously, it's nice to be thought of in that way. Quite frankly, at this point, it's something that I will focus on sometime next year." The story adds that "two well-placed New Hampshire GOP sources noted that Guinta, the former mayor of Manchester, expressed a particular interest in the Senate race."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8151c8f2c8bc8ea709e1e66b3fd0e896f1a9c1b053a1621810d828df505124ee
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8151c8f2c8bc8ea709e1e66b3fd0e896f1a9c1b053a1621810d828df505124ee

TRANSGENDER DEM WON'T TAKE STATE HOUSE SEAT: "The state's first openly transgender person elected to the legislature signed her letter of resignation Thursday, culminating a week-long controversy that stemmed from her past felonies," per today's Union Leader. "Being elected, 'was the most amazing feeling in the world because it was my lifelong dream to become a state rep and to serve the citizens of my district,' said Stacie Marie Laughton, D-Nashua, on a local TV station Thursday afternoon. Laughton, 28, was elected to represent Hillsborough County District 31 in the November elections...Still living as Barry Charles Laughton Jr. at the time, Laughton was tried on three charges related
the credit card fraud in Laconia. Laughton scored a plea bargain deal with prosecutors and served 4½ months at the Belknap County Jail."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8151c8f2c8bc8ea7318c9952df09931fed16db753ff985495ab6e49584e9ec73
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8151c8f2c8bc8ea7318c9952df09931fed16db753ff985495ab6e49584e9ec73

2016-JAY NIXON COMES OUT FOR MEDICAID EXPANSION: "Gov. Jay Nixon wants to expand Medicaid eligibility to cover some 220,000 more Missourians, but he faces a large hurdle in that endeavor: the GOP-controlled state Legislature," the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. "Nixon, a Democrat who won re-election on Nov. 6, has for several months avoided taking a position on the optional expansion allowed by the federal Affordable Care Act. He announced Thursday that he will include it in the budget proposal he submits to lawmakers at the start of their 2013 legislative session...But during his silence, Republican legislative leaders - who ultimately control the state's budget - came out firmly against
the plan. Much of the expansion would be covered by federal dollars, but the money has to be appropriated through the legislative process."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8151c8f2c8bc8ea71afb4923b51a390cd0887e40b76cd815927dc2ccce188a87
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8151c8f2c8bc8ea71afb4923b51a390cd0887e40b76cd815927dc2ccce188a87

THE THEME OF THE INAUGURAL: "Faith in America's Future."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8151c8f2c8bc8ea7a08475f1f67437436ff322c4763520f179ff5a21981f7e7e
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8151c8f2c8bc8ea7a08475f1f67437436ff322c4763520f179ff5a21981f7e7e

THE HARVARD FORUM that was to feature Stu Stevens, Eric Fehrnstrom, David Axelrod and Jim Messina last night got canceled after the power went out:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2ecf8154f743d8a029d9aa2e57bb834aacb551d36e0a8acb07a8eeecc58ea35c
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2ecf8154f743d8a029d9aa2e57bb834aacb551d36e0a8acb07a8eeecc58ea35c .

ELIZABETH WARREN'S DOG died five days before the election. The Boston Globe has a piece on her "private agony":
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2ecf8154f743d8a02f18f28f8d78f1ce54516e56738958927693478b176eaa26
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2ecf8154f743d8a02f18f28f8d78f1ce54516e56738958927693478b176eaa26 .

LIGHTER CLICKS -

NEWT GINGRICH went on Jay Leno last night. He explained why he wrongly predicted Romney would win:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2ecf8154f743d8a05fb7612bdf97de2e001ff26d40d8f518d78e4394c00a7777
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2ecf8154f743d8a05fb7612bdf97de2e001ff26d40d8f518d78e4394c00a7777 . Part 2:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2ecf8154f743d8a0b1a944e04b9ae7eb93c1915ce852ae809af39de1d4478273
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2ecf8154f743d8a0b1a944e04b9ae7eb93c1915ce852ae809af39de1d4478273 .

BO inspects the holiday ornaments in a video released by the White House:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2ecf8154f743d8a01abcad5970b0fb1cfdda5495cf392ee462cff51c48344cfa
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2ecf8154f743d8a01abcad5970b0fb1cfdda5495cf392ee462cff51c48344cfa .

JON STEWART rips Congress for playing games while the fiscal cliff looms:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2ecf8154f743d8a01898eae9ee7743bef5d7524d82fe3c38615dfd8f42609018
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2ecf8154f743d8a01898eae9ee7743bef5d7524d82fe3c38615dfd8f42609018 .

MITCH MCCONNELL literally "burst into laughter" as Tim Geithner outlined Obama's opening bid in their fiscal cliff negotiations:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2ecf8154f743d8a00959b544dda9f3bb38cb1da2ccbcbd9ba3f1e88f56459b8d
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2ecf8154f743d8a00959b544dda9f3bb38cb1da2ccbcbd9ba3f1e88f56459b8d .

A FRESHWATER FISH is now named after Obama:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2ecf8154f743d8a0f1926cd1e0d3abe208caea82ac02460bbc90ccdf6733d7de
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2ecf8154f743d8a0f1926cd1e0d3abe208caea82ac02460bbc90ccdf6733d7de .

JOE BIDEN went to Costco yesterday:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2ecf8154f743d8a086594f122723f158488ccc8f83cd4698b52776cda1353698
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2ecf8154f743d8a086594f122723f158488ccc8f83cd4698b52776cda1353698 .

CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY: "I screwed up royally." - David Petraeus
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2ecf8154f743d8a026f6ec0aa54d646c3c9f9f23e1ecf0316d5eee7daeb784e5
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2ecf8154f743d8a026f6ec0aa54d646c3c9f9f23e1ecf0316d5eee7daeb784e5

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