*Last night we noted the key findings in the NBC/Wall Street Journal poll. Today, a new CBS/New York Times survey is out, and it finds that "a substantial majority of Americans say President Obama has not developed a strategy to deal with the budget deficit." More: "A distinct gulf exists between Mr. Obama's overall standing and how some of his key initiatives are viewed, with fewer than half of Americans saying they approve of how he has handled health care and the effort to save General Motors and Chrysler. A majority of people said his policies have had either no effect yet on improving the economy or had made it worse." His job approval is 63 percent.

*Washington Post reports that Obama is working "to reset his relations with a gay and lesbian constituency that supported him by wide margins in the last election and whose leaders have been disappointed ever since." He signed a presidential memorandum extending benefits to same-sex domestic partners of federal employees.

*Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) said the Justice Department's brief supporting DOMA was "a big mistake," and he wants Obama to "clearly explain his views on the matter," CNN reports. Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.) criticized the administration, saying in a statement he was "shocked and disappointed."

*The Times reports that pressure for Obama to strike a stronger tone with Iran is coming even from "senior members of the administration, including Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. ... Other White House officials have counseled a more cautious approach, saying harsh criticism of the government or endorsement of the protests could have the paradoxical effect of discrediting the protesters and making them seem as if they were led by Americans. So far, Mr. Obama has largely followed that script."

*Do Democrats have a fundraising problem, Cillizza asks. "With the White House and Congress, you'd think that Governor [Tim] Kaine and the DNC would be breaking all kinds of records," a prominent Democratic fundraiser tells him.

*Sotomayor nomination: AP reports that discussions between the nominee and the senators who will vote on her are speaking "in code." Sotomayor is working "mightily to reassure senators" she won't be radical, while senators are "doing their utmost to get assurances from Sotomayor that she'll protect certain precedents and eschew others."

*Washington Times: "Former President George W. Bush fired a salvo at President Obama on Wednesday, asserting his administration's interrogation policies were within the law, declaring the private sector not government will fix the economy and rejecting the nationalization of health care."

*CBS will conduct a sit-down interview with Obama to air on Father's Day, the Tribune reports.

*Secretary of State Hillary Clinton fell and broke her elbow yesterday on her way to the White House. "She was treated at The George Washington University Hospital before heading home. She will undergo surgery to repair her elbow in the upcoming week," her chief of staff said in a statement. (As someone who's broken his elbow before, it really, really hurts --Kyle)

*Of course they did: PETA weighed in on the fly swat. http://www.realclearpolitics.com/news/ap/politics/2009/Jun/18/peta_wishes_obama_hadn_t_swatted_that_fly.html

**Congress
*Roll Call: "Democrats defeated Republicans 15-10 on Wednesday night at Nationals Park in the 48th Annual Roll Call Congressional Baseball Game, lifting the newspaper's coveted trophy for first time since 2000."

*"Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) is maneuvering for the leadership opening left by Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.), who resigned the position a day after admitting to an affair with a campaign staffer. Thune's office confirmed the senator has begun making phone calls to leadership and to rank-and-file senators to tell them he will run for Republican Policy Committee chairman," The Hill's Reid Wilson reports.

*WaPo's Milbank writes that yesterday "was, as Sen. Pat Roberts of Kansas artfully put it, "a no-comment day." Members of the Senate GOP caucus are becoming quite expert at the procedure, having had practice tamping down previous indiscretions by Vitter (D.C. Madam), Ted Stevens (shiatsu massage lounger) and Larry Craig (Minneapolis airport). Ensign faces an additional hurdle: His moral politics (he led the push to drum Craig out of the chamber, calling his behavior "embarrassing for the Senate") left him open to charges of hypocrisy."

*Politico reports that the son of the woman Ensign had the affair with was paid $5,400 by the NRSC in 2008. "That means during March and April 2008, three members of the Hampton family were working for Ensign. Both Doug and Cynthia Hampton stopped working for Ensign at the end of April 2008."

*"The first formal drafting and voting session on Sen. Edward M. Kennedy's sweeping legislation was given over Wednesday to six hours of speechmaking by senators," AP reports. "Nothing was accomplished on the bill itself, and there were suggestions that a goal of completing committee action before the congressional recess July 4 might not be met."

With Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) being close friends with Sen. Ted Kennedy, "it was particularly devastating on Wednesday when Mr. Hatch warned Democrats on the panel that they have already made some grave errors in their effort to write legislation overhauling the health care system," the New York Times reports.

**Campaign Stuff
*Lynn Sweet has the scoop that Lisa Madigan met with top White House officials Rahm Emanuel and Valerie Jarrett to discuss a Senate bid. "Madigan is getting more serious but has a few conditions. If Madigan is to get in the Senate race, she wants an endorsement from Obama when she announces and she wants the Democratic primary field to be cleared of rivals." Alexi Giannoulias' camp says he won't quit the race though; Madigan would also face a primary if she runs for governor.

*PA Sen Primary: Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) leads Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Pa.) 51-32 percent in a Rasmussen poll.

*FL-8: "Florida state House Speaker Larry Cretul is seriously considering a challenge to Democratic Rep. Alan Grayson, a development that could shake up the race and provide the outspoken Orlando-area freshman with a top-tier GOP opponent in one of the nation's most competitive House seats," Politico reports.

*GA Sen: "Welcome to the 2008 Georgia campaign for the U.S. Senate. It might appear to be an under-the-radar battle. A few yard signs have sprouted here and there. But there has been a noticeable absence of television ads or even high-profile debates. There is a very real political war taking place, however, on the Internet, complete with dueling videos on YouTube, pot shots on MySpace and Facebook and an occasional tweak or two on Twitter," the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

*FL Sen: "Marco Rubio, who is challenging Florida Gov. Charlie Crist for the Republican Party's nomination for Senate, said Wednesday that if the vote were held today, he would lose because he remains largely unknown to most Republican voters," Washington Times reports. Trailing by 31 points in the latest Quinnipiac poll, Rubio "says his numbers will change when voters hear his double-barreled political message that includes a stinging indictment of Mr. Crist and of President Obama's big-spending government."

--Mike Memoli and Kyle Trygstad