THE REALITY-BASED PARTY VS. REALITY:

Barack Obama struggles to capitalize in polls (JOSH GERSTEIN, 3/29/10, Politico)

Democrats who held out hopes that President Barack Obama’s health reform win would mean a quick boost to the party’s political fortunes are getting a reality check — a reminder that it takes more than one good week to shake up a year of sliding polls. [...]

“It helped a little bit, but I think it’s within the margin of error,” said Peter Brown of the Quinnipiac poll, which recorded a slight drop in disapproval of Obama after the bill passed.