After they slept through Scott Brown’s victory in Massachusetts, the new Washington Post / ABC News poll ought to be a wake-up call for congressional Democrats and the Obama administration. Obama’s approval rating is at 51 percent, but the only issue area where he has higher than 50 percent approval is terrorism.

Only 43 percent of the public, for example, approves of the way Obama is handling health care — and yet the White House continues to bring up the issue despite public opposition and the inability of congressional Democrats to pass a final bill.