The Democrats are finally admitting that their control of the White House is hanging in the balance and that this summer is the time for tough political warfare. The Today Show‘s Chuck Todd says the GOP needs 39 seats in the House and 10 seats in the Senate to gain control. Senate majority leader Harry Reid thinks that could be a possibility if the president doesn’t get his passion back. “He’s a peacemaker. Sometimes I think you have to be a little more forceful and I don’t think he is," Reid says.

Joining The Today Show, Nation editor and publisher Katrina vanden Heuvel says that Obama’s problems with his own base go far beyond a lack of passion. “Obama and his team made a mistake when it came to the White House in demobilizing a base that was ready to work for bolder reforms," she says. This could be especially dangerous for Democrats as Republicans like Sarah Palin seem to be using the mid-term elections as a chance to rebrand themselves for a presidential bid in 2012.

—Melanie Breault