By MICHAEL FALCONE ( @michaelpfalcone )

NOTABLES

• EXCLUSIVE - MARCO RUBIO MOVES TOWARD 2016 PRESIDENTIAL BID: Sen. Marco Rubio has begun taking concrete steps toward launching a presidential bid, asking his top advisors to prepare for a campaign, signing on a leading Republican fundraiser, and planning extensive travel to early-voting states in the coming weeks, ABC's JONATHAN KARL reports. "He has told us to proceed as if he is running for president," a senior Rubio advisor tells ABC News. Leading the effort to raise the $50 million or more he'll need to run in the Republican primaries will be Anna Rogers, currently the finance director for American Crossroads, the conservative group started by Karl Rove that raised more than $200 million to help elect Republicans over the past two elections. Rogers will begin working at Rubio's political action committee on February 1 and would become the finance director of Rubio's presidential campaign. http://abcn.ws/1BjQXvS

• A SNEAK PEEK AT MARCO'S CALENDAR: Rubio will gather on Friday and Saturday at the Delano Hotel in Miami with 300 supporters and major donors to his Reclaim America PAC to discuss his political future, KARL notes. Aides expect Rubio will make a final decision in the coming weeks. ABC News has learned Rubio plans to skip all votes in the Senate next week and instead take a campaign fundraising swing through California with events in Beverly Hills, Newport Beach, Rancho Sante Fe and Costa Mesa. He also plans fundraising stops in Texas and Chicago. Rubio has also scheduled a book tour that will include stops in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Florida and Nevada. The first stop is tentatively scheduled for Feb. 13 in Des Moines. http://abcn.ws/1BjQXvS

• HAPPENING THIS WEEKEND - ABC's JONATHAN KARL MODERATES PANEL WITH RUBIO, PAUL AND CRUZ: Three of the most talked about potential GOP presidential candidates will appear together this weekend at a panel sponsored by the Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce, in this year's first forum of presidential hopefuls. At the group's winter meeting Sunday in Palm Springs, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio will participate in a panel discussion on domestic economic issues, including health care and energy policy. ABC's JONATHAN KARL will moderate the discussion. The Virginia-based Freedom Partners is a not-for-profit advocacy group affiliated with Charles and David Koch, two of the country's best known conservative mega-donors. The panel discussion will take place Sunday at 8:30 p.m. PT, and an ABCNews.com livestream will feature the event. In addition, Karl will report for ABC News platforms from the event. http://abcn.ws/1CUQArn

THIS WEEK ON 'THIS WEEK': The powerhouse roundtable debates all the week's politics, with ABC News contributor and Democratic strategist Donna Brazile, Republican strategist Sara Fagen, ABC News contributor and Weekly Standard editor Bill Kristol, and ABC News' Cokie Roberts. Be sure to use #ThisWeek when you tweet about the program. TUNE IN SUNDAY: http://abcnews.go.com/thisweek

POLLING NOTE

HISTORY'S A POSITIVE FOR CLINTON; NOT SO FOR BUSH OR ROMNEY. Hillary Clinton's potential place in history and her husband's tenure in the White House boost her presidential prospects, while Jeb Bush's political legacy and Mitt Romney's 2012 run for the office are negatives. ABC's GARY LANGER notes that the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll finds 53 to 56 percent support for Clinton among registered voters against each of these potential Republican candidates, while they get 39 to 41 percent. Her husband having served as president is a net positive, by an 8-point margin. Those results stand in contrast to Bush's and Romney's backgrounds. The fact that his brother and father held the office is a net negative for Bush by a broad 25 percentage points; a third of registered voters say it makes them less likely to support him for president. And Romney's having run as the Republican nominee three years ago is a 14-point net negative for him. http://abcn.ws/1wpPejn

THE BUZZ

with ABC's VERONICA STRACUALURSI

OBAMA WILL NOT MEET WITH NETANYAHU DURING MARCH VISIT. President Obama will not meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when he visits Washington this March, due to the proximity of his trip to the Israeli elections, the White House said yesterday. "As a matter of long-standing practice and principle, we do not see heads of state or candidates in close proximity to their elections, so as to avoid the appearance of influencing a democratic election in a foreign country," National Security Council spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan announced Friday, ABC's JOHN PARKINSON and MARY BRUCE reports. "Accordingly, the president will not be meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu because of the proximity to the Israeli election, which is just two weeks after his planned address to the U.S. Congress." Shortly after the president delivered his State of the Union address Tuesday night, House Speaker John Boehner invited Netanyahu to speak to a joint meeting of Congress - a move widely perceived to rebut the president's repeated threat to veto new sanctions against Iran because they could disrupt ongoing "delicate" nuclear negotiations. http://abcn.ws/15CPPsA

WHERE MITT ROMNEY STANDS ON CLIMATE CHANGE. Mitt Romney's tone on climate change appears to be evolving as he considers a third presidential run - something that was evident during a speech he made Wednesday night in Salt Lake City, Utah, ABC's ALI WEINBERG notes. "I'm one of those Republicans who thinks we are getting warmer and that we contribute to that," he said, according to the Associated Press, adding that federal leaders need to do more to stem the problem. This declaration is a change in tone for Romney as he emphasized possible human influence on climate change and world leaders' ability to take action to stop it. http://abcn.ws/1y3nIIV

JOE BIDEN ON THE MANY FACES OF JOE BIDEN. Sure, everybody fawns over the president on the night of his State of the Union address. But according to Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, it's the veep who does most of the heavy lifting, ABC's ERIN DOOLEY notes. "The president has a teleprompter," Johnson said just before Biden's remarks to the U.S. Conference of Mayors Thursday. "There's no chance he's going to mess up too bad." "The real pressure is on the vice president, who in every single TV shot is responsible for assuring that he has the appropriate reaction." http://abcn.ws/1JezYPk

YOUTUBE STAR GLOZELL GREEN ACCIDENTALLY CALLED OUT OBAMA'S 'FIRST WIFE.' YouTube sensation GloZell Green is known for her sharp tongue and quick wit but today she found herself a bit tongue tied. The comedian was almost through her hard-hitting White House interview with President Obama, when she had an accidental slip, ABC's MARY BRUCE notes. "My momma says whenever you go to somebody's house you have to give them something. Don't come empty handed," she said, after asking the president about race relations, Cuba, and cybersecurity. "One for your first wife…" she said, as she handed them over. "My first wife!?" Obama exclaimed. "Do you know something I don't?" WATCH: http://abcn.ws/1CHiHdp

WHO'S TWEETING?

@rickklein: ICYMI - Bradley Cooper joined #TopLine on the red carpet to talk @AmericanSniper - powerful role for him: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/power-players-abc-news/-plight-of-a-soldier-bradley-cooper-hopes-to-inspire-with-portrayal-of-chris-kyle-131437877.html … @OKnox

@donnabrazile: Does #Deflategate mean the NFL lets cheaters prosper? http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2015-01-22/does-deflategate-mean-the-nfl-lets-cheaters-prosper- … via @BV.

@mkraju: Even as DSCC put out statement praising Kamala Harris, Reid has made clear his desire to stay neutral http://www.politico.com/story/2015/01/restless-reid-quietly-pulling-strings-114520.html?hp=t3_r …

@DavidMDrucker: In Iowa, @GovChristie gets points for showing up: http://washex.am/1ClwAQp h/t @ByronYork reporting from Des Moines

@MarlenaCNN: Team Romney meets in Boston on Friday http://cnn.it/1ClwhoI @GloriaBorger reports #CNN