By MICHAEL FALCONE ( @michaelpfalcone )

NOTABLES

• ON THE MENU: This afternoon, President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden will host the Democratic and Republican leadership of the Senate and the House for a lunch meeting in the Old Family Dining Room of the White House.

• ARE DEMOCRATS CUTTING THEIR LOSSES IN LOUISIANA? While three-term Sen. Mary Landrieu is making an aggressive pitch for reelection heading into a runoff against Republican challenger Rep. Bill Cassidy, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee is pulling back $2 million in previously reserved TV ad time for the embattled Southern Democrat. The DSCC told ABC News in a statement that they maintain "100 percent" support in Landrieu, who they call "a proven winner," but that the initial reservation of $2 million was determined to be an overestimate in what is needed for air time spending, ABC's JORDYN PHELPS and ARLETTE SAENZ report. "We made the initial reservation when there were concerns that the rates would skyrocket but they have stabilized, giving us more flexibility to make week-to-week decisions," DSCC Communications Director Justin Barasky said. "We are going to make ongoing determinations on how best to invest in the race."

• WHY ALASKA ELECTION RESULTS ARE TAKING SOOOOO LONG: Neither the Alaska Senate race nor the Alaska gubernatorial race has been called - and both may take a while. ABC's SHUSHANNAH WALSHE reports that we may not know the new Senator and Governor from the Last Frontier for weeks because there are still votes to be counted, and that won't start until next week. 23,609 early and absentee ballots have already been received and deemed eligible for counting. Another 13,800 absentee ballots were sent out and if postmarked by November 4th, can arrive 15 days after the election and still be counted. These races may not be called for quite a while. http://abcn.ws/1opl5TO

• WE'LL BE WATCHING: Virginia GOP U.S. Senate candidate Ed Gillespie will make remarks today in Springfield, Va. at 1:00 p.m.

THIS WEEK ON 'THIS WEEK': The powerhouse roundtable debates all the week's midterm politics following the Republican takeover of the Senate, with ABC News contributor and Democratic strategist Donna Brazile, Fox News anchor Greta Van Susteren, BuzzFeed.com editor-in-chief Ben Smith, and Mark Halperin and John Heilemann, managing editors of Bloomberg Politics and hosts of "With All Due Respect." See the "This Week" page for full guest listings. Be sure to use #ThisWeek when you tweet about the program. Tune in Sunday: http://abcnews.go.com/thisweek

THE ROUNDTABLE

ABC's RICK KLEIN: So far we've got poisoned wells, playing with matches, and waving red flags in front of angry bulls. (Are we absolutely certain that bourbon is a good idea?) What's clear from 48 hours of election fallout is that the honeymoon ended before it started. What's equally clear is that there is a group of things that just plain have to happen before both sides can adjust to the new Washington reality of fully divided government. President Obama needs to act on immigration enforcement as much as Republican leaders in Congress need to act to repeal Obamacare and approve the Keystone pipeline. To keep the well metaphor flowing, these are things that are already in the water, so any poisoning has effectively happened already. The real questions about deal-making can't even start until a whole bunch of actions are taken. Very clearly, political posturing is not what voters went out to support on Tuesday. But to party bases - and to party leaders in elected office - it's the election has to actually end before the real work can begin.

WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

ROB PORTMAN AND ABC's JON KARL KAYAK, TALK POTENTIAL 2016 WHITE HOUSE BID. When Sen. Rob Portman found himself in the middle of a river in Chile, unable to swim following a kayaking accident that dislocated his shoulder, he had one thought: Mel Gibson. "I'm there alone on this big river in the middle of nowhere in Chile and what went through my mind was Mel Gibson in 'Lethal Weapon 2,'" Portman, a longtime kayaking enthusiast, told ABC's JONATHAN KARL, host of "Politics Confidential," during a recent interview at the Washington Canoe Club on the Potomac River. In the movie, Gibson's character relocated his shoulder by jamming it into a filing cabinet. And though Portman didn't have a filing cabinet in the middle of the river, he did have a rock. Portman acknowledges that he's now considering running for president himself in 2016. "I am concerned about the country, and I want to see who else jumps in," said Portman, who is also planning to run for another term in the Senate in 2016. "I think it's a pivotal election so I am concerned enough that I am taking a look at it." http://yhoo.it/1zA321d

POLLING NOTE

A TEST OF PRESIDENTIAL TIMBER. Four potential Republican candidates for president ran into a nasty case of mode effects Tuesday. The results, for them, were not pretty. The term "mode effects" refers to differing results when surveys are done different ways. In this case it's the difference between a printed ballot - Tuesday's national exit poll - and a telephone survey. ABC's GARY LANGER reports the ABC News/Washington Post pre-election poll makes clear that lots of people - 48 to 51 percent - are skeptical of Jeb Bush, Chris Christie, Rand Paul and Rick Perry as presidential timber, and that lots of others - 21 to 28 percent of respondents - haven't yet formed an opinion of them. Meanwhile, the exit poll suggests that when those without an opinion on these four don't have a chance to say so, they're most apt to pick the negative option, which explains why 60 to 64 percent said they viewed the four unfavorably. http://abcn.ws/1oq1gf5

THE BUZZ

with ABC's KIRSTEN APPLETON

BOEHNER WARNS OBAMA NOT TO 'BURN HIMSELF' ON IMMIGRATION REFORM. House Speaker John Boehner warned that executive action by President Obama on immigration reform would eliminate any chance of an overhaul bill and damage the nascent relationship between Republicans and Democrats before the new Congress even takes office, ABC's JOHN PARKINSON reports. "I believe that if the president continues to act on his own, he is going to poison the well," Boehner, R-Ohio, said. "When you play with matches, you take the risk of burning yourself, and he's going to burn himself if he continues to go down this path." In early September, Obama said he would delay executive action on immigration reform until after the election. http://abcn.ws/10Zw64d

HOW 6 POTENTIAL 2016 GOP PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES FARED ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL. We know that Election Day 2014 left the Democrats seeing red. But with midterms behind us, the focus now shifts to 2016. The midterms gave potential 2016 presidential nominees a chance to hit the campaign trail early - for other candidates, of course. ABC's KIRSTEN APPLETON and VERONICA STRACQUALURSI take a look at how well the rumored 2016 contenders did for their candidates. http://abcn.ws/10zRSus

MEET BEN CARSON: FIRST REPUBLICAN TO THROW HIS HAT IN 2016 RING. Yes, the 2016 race for the White House has already gotten started - and it looks like Dr. Ben Carson is first in the ring. Carson, a famous pediatric neurosurgeon and conservative political star, will air a nearly 40 minute-long ad called "A Breath of Fresh Air: A New Prescription for America," introducing himself to the American people this weekend. ABC's SHUSHANNAH WALSHE reports that the paid video will detail some of his biography and family life, including his rise from being born to a single mother with a poor childhood in Detroit to director of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins, known for his work separating conjoined twins, to potential 2016 presidential candidate. http://abcn.ws/1x7eCQH

WHY THE SUPREME COURT IS SUDDENLY MORE LIKELY TO TAKE UP GAY MARRIAGE. For the first time since the Supreme Court's historic gay marriage rulings in 2013, a federal appeals court has upheld state bans on gay marriage in Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee. ABC's ARIANE DE VOGUE reports that the 2-1 ruling by the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals creates a circuit split in the lower courts and means the Supreme Court is much more likely to take up the issue. http://abcn.ws/1zz18y1

3 REASONS WHY THERE'S NO QUICK FIX FOR THE VA. Nearly six months after the scandal that rocked the Department of Veterans Affairs over outrageous wait times and secret waiting lists, the new secretary Robert McDonald says things continue to improve but that he can't fix everything immediately. ABC's JIM AVILA and SERENA MARSHALL note the improvements and shortcomings still facing the agency. http://abcn.ws/1yaDXFU

OBAMA AWARDS CIVIL WAR MEDAL OF HONOR 150 YEARS AFTER BATTLE. First Lieutenant Alonzo Cushing was decorated yesterday with the nation's highest military honor - more than 150 years after he was shot three times and later killed by Confederate forces in the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg. President Obama made a rare presentation of the Medal of Honor to a Civil War veteran during a small ceremony in the Roosevelt Room with Cushing's relatives, reports ABC's DEVIN DWYER. Cushing commanded an Army artillery battery that was defending Cemetery Ridge in a grueling fight that would become a turning point in the Civil War. He continued to push his men forward despite being wounded. http://abcn.ws/1Gu5DM4

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

YES, PRESIDENT OBAMA, MITCH MCCONNELL DOES LIKE BOURBON. President Obama says he's not sure what type of liquor Sen. Mitch McConnell prefers, but the Kentucky Republican is well-known to have a thirst for bourbon. Obama on Wednesday extended an invitation to McConnell, his long-time political rival, to enjoy a glass of Kentucky bourbon together - which some have dubbed the Bourbon Summit. But the president conceded, "I don't know what his preferred drink is." ABC's DEVIN DWYER reports there was no official response from McConnell's camp to Obama's invitation, though aides said the likely soon-to-be Senate Majority Leader certainly likes the drink. McConnell has been a passionate promoter of the spirit, which originates in Kentucky and remains a top state export. http://abcn.ws/1zyi9YX

WHO'S TWEETING?

@CarrieNBCNews: Mitch McConnell, re: bourbon/ golf with the POTUS: "It's not personal. It's just that he's a pretty liberal guy." http://www.kentucky.com/2014/11/06/3525225/mcconnell-a-bottle-of-bourbon.html#storylink=cpy …

@nationaljournal: Paul Ryan isn't preparing to run for president. In fact, he says he is planning to exit politics altogether http://trib.al/4PAfGN6

@CoralMDavenport: Steyer's campaign may be a preview of his own run for office http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/07/us/politics/-meager-returns-for-the-democrats-biggest-donor-tom-steyer.html?smprod=nytcore-iphone&smid=nytcore-iphone-share …

@joshgerstein: Obama heads to Asia this weekend having lost face in midterms, but with arguably stronger hand on key issue of trade http://politi.co/1EokiGN

@PhilipRucker: . @mateagold explains why Rs say they mastered ground game - and why D's Bannock Street worked in some places http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/republicans-say-midterm-wins-show-party-has-mastered-the-art-of-the-ground-game/2014/11/06/7fb5ba0e-65d9-11e4-9fdc-d43b053ecb4d_story.html?hpid=z7 …