Short Sale "Strategery"

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I would like to hear some opinions from those who have been doing short sales for at least the last 2 years consistently. First question is:
Do you think its getting harder to get approvals? Obviously, a short sale with a 1st, 2nd, liens and PMI is much harder than one with only a first...Im getting the impression from colleagues of mine that its getting harder because the 1sts either arent willing to give enough to the second for them to buy off or arent even willing to review the offer with out a release from the first: ie WaMu (which can be difficult if not impossible without at least some form of conditional approval from the 1st).
Second question is: On a new short sale listing where there is a 1st and a 2nd, which one do you contact first (or simultaneously) when you have an offer and how do you decide how much to offer the second? Let's use a SFR property that currently comps at $200,000. The 1st is $250,000 and the second is $50,000.
I have one deal where the 2nd (US Bank) is telling me $3000 wont cut it but they wont tell me what will (against a $49,000 balance), they wont accept ANYTHING from a deal that is paying more than 5% commission... WaMu holds the 1st and it's taken 3 months to finally get a response on an offer that was presented in October only after making several calls to executives at JP Morgan. Then WaMu (and JP) tell me they wont even present the offer for review until they get an approval from the 2nd. Any ideas??