BUSH JOB APPROVAL AT 31%; HANDLING OF GAS AT 13%: Americans have a bleaker view of the country's direction than at any time in more than two decades, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll. Sharp disapproval of President Bush's handling of gasoline prices has combined with intensified unhappiness about Iraq to create a grim political environment for the White House and Congressional Republicans. Mr. Bush's approval ratings for his management of foreign policy, Iraq and the economy have fallen to the lowest levels of his presidency... Mr. Bush's overall job approval rating hit another new low, 31 percent, tying the low point of his father in July 1992, four months before the elder Mr. Bush lost his bid for a second term to Bill Clinton. New York Times: Poll Gives Bush His Worst Marks Yet

HAYDEN'S NEW JOB NOT A "POWER PLAY" FOR DEFENSE, SAYS RUMMY: Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld dismissed the idea that he has been involved in a bureaucratic power play to boost the military's role in intelligence-gathering, and strongly supported Air Force Gen. Michael V. Hayden's nomination to be the next director of the CIA, describing him yesterday as a seasoned professional. "He did not come up through the operational chain in the Department of Defense, and at the last minute slide over into the intelligence business," Rumsfeld said of Hayden at a news conference. "He's a person who's had assignment after assignment after assignment in the intelligence business, and clearly, that is what his career has been, and he's been very good at it." Rumsfeld was even more emphatic in denying that tensions exist inside the government over the Pentagon's growing role in intelligence. Washington Post: No Power Play, Rumsfeld Says

STAGE SET FOR "CLASH" BETWEEN CIA, DOD: President Bush's selection of Gen. Michael V. Hayden to be the next director of the Central Intelligence Agency sets the stage for new wrangling with the Pentagon, which is rapidly expanding its own global spying and terrorist-tracking operations, both long considered C.I.A. roles... The C.I.A. has the lead role in managing "human intelligence," or spying in the government. Whether by design or circumstance, though, much of the growth in the military's spy missions has come in the Special Operations Command, which reports to Mr. Rumsfeld and falls outside the orbit controlled by John D. Negroponte, the director of national intelligence. New York Times: Clash Foreseen Between C.I.A. and Pentagon

DEMS WON'T FOCUS ON WIRETAPS AT HEARINGS: Democrats say they will focus their fire on Michael Hayden's military background and suitability to head the Central Intelligence Agency when Senate confirmation hearings begin next week -- and won't emphasize the nominee's role in running a much-criticized eavesdropping program. Bush administration officials and their Republican congressional allies have said they would welcome a fight over the surveillance program, which Hayden initiated during his tenure as director of the National Security Agency. Democrats say they won't oblige them. "I'm sure the administration is going to make this about the NSA," said Senator Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat and member of the Intelligence Committee, which will consider the nomination. "But for me credibility is the issue first and foremost." Bloomberg: Democrats Won't Focus Hayden Hearing on Surveillance

BUSH TALKS MEDICARE IN FL: The White House sees Medicare's new prescription-drug plan as good political medicine. As President Bush travels through Florida warning that the May 15 sign-up deadline is rapidly approaching, polls show rising popularity for the new program. "This is a good deal for America's seniors," Bush said Tuesday in this planned community for the elderly near Tampa. He discusses the program again today in Orlando. During a question-and-answer session, Bush confronted complaints that have dogged the program since sign-up began in November. The program went into effect Jan. 1. Asked about the sometimes-dizzying array of plans offered, Bush said people can pick the one that best meets their individual needs: "I think (the) more choices for consumers, the better off we are." USA Today: In Florida, Bush touts drug program as 'good deal'

REPUBLICANS NARROW FOCUS, AIM TO PLEASE BASE: Republican leaders in Congress have all but abandoned efforts to pass major policy initiatives this year, and are instead focusing their energies on a series of conservative favorites that they hope will rally loyal voters in November's congressional elections. The House and Senate agendas are packed with bills that, even supporters concede, have no chance of passing but that social and fiscal conservatives clamor for, like constitutional amendments banning flag-burning and gay marriage. By bringing them up, Republicans hope to inspire a constituency that has fractured in its support for President Bush and the party. They also hope to cast Democrats as obstructionists by drawing their plentiful "no" votes. But some GOP moderates fear the strategy risks alienating moderate voters, whom vulnerable Republicans need at the polls in November. Boston Globe: GOP narrowing its congressional agenda

GOP FIELDS BLACK CANDIDATES IN THREE HOT RACES: When J. Kenneth Blackwell took the stage here on May 2 to claim the Republican nomination for governor, he became something more than his party's standard-bearer in a bellwether state. The Ohio secretary of state -- a crusading conservative with an appetite for political combat -- also assumed a leading role in his party's latest effort to break the Democrats' decades-long grip on the black vote.Blackwell, who will face Democratic Rep. Ted Strickland in November, is now the third prominent African American on a statewide Republican ballot this fall. In Maryland, Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele, whose candidacy has benefited from his friendship with two Republican National Committee chairmen, is the party's nominee to fill the seat of retiring Democratic Sen. Paul S. Sarbanes. In Pennsylvania, former Pittsburgh Steelers star Lynn Swann is challenging Democratic Gov. Edward G. Rendell. Washington Post: The Year of the Black Republican?

DEMS' OWN TROUBLES "DULLS THE MESSAGE" ON ETHICS: For the past year, Democrats have been jockeying for the high ground on congressional ethics, hoping a largely Republican lobbying scandal would help propel them into the majority come November's elections. But the issue is proving to be a two-edged sword, as Democrats themselves have come under scrutiny for allegations of bribery and conflicts of interest. "You can attack one party for having a lack of ethics, but if any of your own members have problems, it dulls the message with the American people," said Leon Panetta, an ex-Democratic congressman from California and chief of staff under President Clinton. "They begin to put everybody in the same box. It clearly loses some of its impact as a clean campaign issue." USA Today: Democrats' own ethics trouble 'dulls the message'

OOPS... WH SKED FOUND IN TRASH: How much do you think Osama bin Laden would pay to know exactly when and where the President was traveling, and who was with him? Turns out, he wouldn't have had to pay a dime. All he had to do was go through the trash early Tuesday morning. It appears to be a White House staff schedule for the President's trip to Florida Tuesday. And a sanitation worker was alarmed to find in the trash long hours before Mr. Bush left for his trip. It's the kind of thing you would expect would be shredded or burned, not thrown in the garbage. Randy Hopkins could not believe what he was seeing. There on the floor next to a big trash truck was a thick sheaf of papers with nearly every detail of the President's voyage... The documents details the exact arrival and departure time for Air Force One, Marine One and the back up choppers, Nighthawk 2 and Three. It lists every passenger on board each aircraft, from the President to military attaché with nuclear football. It offers the order of vehicles in the President's motorcade. WUSA: EXCLUSIVE: Presidential Plans Found In Trash

HILLARY "GRATIFIED" BY MURDOCH'S SUPPORT: Hillary Clinton defended her warming relationship on Tuesday with Rupert Murdoch, the conservative media mogul. Commenting on Mr Murdoch's decision to host a fundraiser for her Senate-election campaign, Mrs Clinton said: "He's my constituent and I'm very gratified that he thinks I'm doing a good job." Mr Murdoch's New York Post tabloid newspaper initially attacked the New York Democrat's decision to stand for the Senate, running front-page headlines pleading "Don't Run". Mrs Clinton is the leading Democratic candidate for president in 2008. But one person involved in the event said Mr Murdoch's decision to support her reflected his opinion of her as a senator for New York rather than as a presidential candidate. Financial Times: Hillary Clinton defends link with Murdoch

CAN HILLARY SAY ANYTHING NICE ABOUT BUSH? Asked to say one nice thing about President Bush, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton went one better: She named two things. "He is someone who has a lot of charm and charisma, and I think in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, I was very grateful to him for his support for New York," Clinton said Tuesday night during a talk at the National Archives about her life in politics. Clinton, a potential presidential candidate in 2008, said that despite their "many disagreements about many, many issues," she has always had a good personal relationship with the president. "He's been very willing to talk. He's been affable. He's been good company," said Clinton, D-N.Y.AP via Yahoo! News: Sen. Clinton Says Bush Has Charm, Charisma

NEW SCHOOL STUDENTS AND FACULTY "UP IN ARMS" OVER MCCAIN VISIT: Bob Kerrey, the former senator and longtime friend of Senator John McCain, said it was only logical to invite his fellow iconoclast and Vietnam veteran to be the commencement speaker at the New School, the storied bastion of liberalism of which Mr. Kerrey is president. Graduation ceremonies need speakers, after all, and the bigger the name the better. "I think he's one of the world's most important leaders at the moment," Mr. Kerrey said in a telephone interview. But instead of welcoming Mr. McCain, an Arizona Republican who is considered a possible presidential candidate, hundreds of students and faculty members are up in arms, calling the invitation a prime example of what they see as the disconnect between Mr. Kerrey, the onetime Democratic senator from Nebraska, and the institution he leads. New York Times: Protesters Object to McCain as New School Commencement Speaker