**Weekly Polls Update
*Obama Job Approval: 59.8%
*Generic Congressional Vote: Democrats +8.0
*Congress Job Approval: -17.7

*At last night's DCCC/DSCC fundraiser, Obama "took on GOPers who have come after his administration for three of his next big and costly initiatives," The Hill reports. In doing so, the president appeared to be steeling and warning Democratic fundraisers that Republicans were sharpening their attack lines for the midterm elections, a subtle prod to 'dig deep' lest they lose control of Congress."

*Jeff Zeleny looks at whether President Obama is staying true to candidate Obama's pledge to "change the ways of Washington" by not accepting lobbyist donations. "To follow through with that promise, Mr. Obama is simply leaving the room. ... Obama's rules have hardly stopped the bustling intersection of money and politics. Not only are members of Congress already engaged in their next races, but legislative battles over health care, energy and financial regulation have also put a premium on access and influence for many lobbyists and their clients."

*Mike writes about how the White House keeps one eye on politics even as it faces a host of challenges.

*The stimulus tour continues: VP Biden will head to the Toledo area next week. He'll visit the headquarters of solar panel producer Willard & Kelsey Solar Group LLC, and hold a meeting of the middle class task force.

*Politico looks at how the White House has "failed to quell growing anger in the gay community that gay rights issues were getting short shrift."

*The Wall Street Journal says that the administration is seeking to count same-sex partners in the 2010 census. "The Census Bureau has long collected data on same-sex marriages when people chose to report it. White House officials said the previous administration interpreted the federal Defense of Marriage Act as prohibiting the release of the data. The Obama administration has abandoned that interpretation."

*When Treasury Secretary Geithner went to the Senate Banking Committee to sell the administration's financial system overhaul, "lawmakers made it clear the administration would encounter opposition from both sides of the aisle," ABC's Jaffe reports.

*Washington Post profiles Anita Dunn, who insists that she really is just the "interim" White House communications director. "It is very difficult, when the president of the United States asks you directly, to say no," Dunn explains.

*The RNC is trying to raise money to buy airtime to counter ABC's upcoming special at the White House, the Daily News reports. In a memo, Michael Steele wrote that ABC would be "promoting Obamacare" throughout the day and urged supporters to donate money for airtime.

*Health care: Congressional Democrats are "scrambling to scale back their proposals or find ways to trim tens of billions of dollars a year from existing health programs." Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) postponed a drafting session that was to have begun early next week, but said he's still optimistic, the New York Times says. Baucus: "We are getting closer and closer and closer. There's no doubt in my mind that we will have a bipartisan bill."

**Congress
*The Hill: "House Democrats passed the first spending bill for 2010 Thursday evening after frustrated GOPers kept lawmakers voting all day on amendment after amendment. The $64.4 billion Commerce, Justice and Science appropriations bill won approval on a 259-157 vote that went largely along party lines. ... Obey and Democrats limited the amendments to 33, down from the total of 127 initially offered. Republicans had offered more than 100 amendments, most of them aimed at reducing spending. While Republicans protested the lack of open debate, Obey criticized the GOP strategy of trying to throw up procedural obstacles to the Democrats' agenda."

*Politico: "Democratic opposition to a controversial climate change bill has House Speaker Nancy Pelosi fishing for votes in the most unfriendly of waters: the House Republican caucus. Pelosi, Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman and Rep. Ed Markey met with 11 moderate House Republicans on Thursday, hoping to pick up enough votes to get the bill passed by the middle of next month."

*Senate Apologizes for Slavery: "The Senate's apology follows a similar apology passed last year by the House. One key difference is that the Senate version explicitly deals with the long-simmering issue of whether slavery descendants are entitled to reparations, saying that the resolution cannot be used in support of claims for restitution. The House is expected to revisit the issue next week to conform its resolution to the Senate version," Washington Post reports.

*The Senate also passed the "Cash-for-Clunkers" bill, WaPo reported.

**Campaign Stuff
*Politico: "The National Republican Congressional Committee raised $3.24 million in May, and ended the month with $3.7 million cash-on-hand, according to figures released today. The fundraising total includes a $1 million transfer from the Republican National Committee. ... The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has not yet released its most recent fundraising figures, but ended April with $4 million cash-on-hand."

*IL Sen & Gov: "Madigan, who initially was preparing a run for governor -- challenging Gov. Quinn, a longtime friend of White House Senior Adviser David Axelrod -- is being recruited to run for the Senate by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.). Madigan has been leaning toward governor; if she gets in the Senate contest, the immediate beneficiary is Quinn, who avoids a primary," Lynn Sweet writes.

**Campaign Stuff
*The New Orleans Times-Picayune picks up reports that Rep. Charlie Melancon (D-La.) will challenge Sen. David Vitter in 2010.

*Kentucky Secretary of State Trey Grayson (R) "is scheduling eight additional fundraisers this month in hopes of presenting an impressive campaign finance report next month for his U.S. Senate exploratory committee,"the Lexington Herald Leader reports.

*NY Times looks at how Chris Christie (R) is trying to woo Democrats in New Jersey. "What could emerge as the sleeper issue is Mr. Christie's push for education reform: merit pay for teachers, more charter schools, and above all, vouchers as a way to give poor and minority children better educational choices and create competition that would improve the public schools. ... Christie said that he did not expect to carry any heavily Democratic cities. But he is gambling that school choice has become popular enough among urban blacks and Latinos that he can cut into their support for Mr. Corzine, who opposes it."

*Another Republican takes a pass on challenging Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, this time former Rep. Jon Porter.

*Mike Huckabee was on "The Daily Show" last night, where he and Jon Stewart debated abortion.

*Hawaii Gov: Rep. Neil Abercrombie leads Mufi Hannemann 42%-22% in the Dem primary, and leads Duke Aiona 45%-36% in the general election, a new DailyKos/Research2000 poll finds.

*MN Gov: State Rep. Paul Kohls entered the race for governor yesterday. More: "State House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher is expected to vie for the Democratic nomination while former U.S. Sen. Dean Barkley, an independent who came in third in the still contested Senate race between Norm Coleman and Al Franken, is reported to be mulling a run."

**Sports Alert:: Kyle's Nats beat Mike's struggling Yankees for the second night in a row. Third baseman comparison: Yanks' Alex Rodriguez went 0-4 and is now batting .212; Nats' Ryan Zimmerman went 3-5 and is batting .310.

--Kyle Trygstad and Mike Memoli