I asked him if he thinks Democrats will win a majority in Congress in the November election. "I don't think they're going to win," he stated. "I don't believe they'll win it, because I believe that these elections will come down to two things: one, firm belief that in order to win the war on terror there must be a comprehensive strategy that recognizes this war is being fought on more than one front; and two, the economy." He did lament that some Republican candidates think they can win by distancing themselves from his policies, noting that could send a message that people who do such things are political opportunists. He implied such a strategy might turn off the GOP base. The president said 12 to 15 races would decide who runs the next Congress.

That view was endorsed by a top White House strategist, who forecasts a post-election spread of 52-48 or 53-47 in the Senate, with Republicans maintaining their majority, and a loss of eight to 12 seats in the House, but with the GOP still in charge. With the president's approval numbers slowly rising to the mid-40s, the strategist say that all Republicans need is a couple more points to be OK.

The strategist, who spoke at an off-the-record lunch, predicted Hillary Clinton will get the Democratic nomination in 2008 and will run against a very good Republican.

Look for the dominant issues leading up to the November election to be the war, taxes, education and the economy. No one at the White House wants to say it publicly, but gas prices continue to fall, and the president might wonder why, when gasoline was $3.50 a gallon, it was on the front page, but now that prices have dropped 80 cents or more in some places, one doesn't see as much attention given to it.

The president suggested he wants to again take on Social Security and Medicare reform, earmark reform and the line-item veto as his domestic priorities after the election. If he's right in his election forecast, he might be able to. If not, he'll be taking on investigations and possibly impeachment resolutions by mostly liberal congressional committee chairs. A lot is riding on the outcome. Maybe that's why he called us in.