F TROOP BACK TO NORMAL:

Dems' blues: States reverting to red (JONATHAN MARTIN & BEN SMITH, 2/17/10, Politico)

While off-year and down-ballot elections are inherently different than presidential contests, the rapid reversal in Democratic fortunes in the very places where Obama's success brought so much attention suggests that predictions of a lasting realignment were premature.

And it's raising the question of whether the president's 2008 win was the result of a unique set of circumstances that will be difficult for him to replicate again and perhaps downright impossible for other Democrats on the ballot to reprise.