The tendency to exaggerate Republican prospects and Democratic woes is among the most consistent biases in American mainstream media -- as yesterday’s coverage of Senate race developments demonstrated -- and will only grow more pronounced as the midterm elections draw closer. All the headlines and analyses depicting a “vicious cycle” of Democrats retiring fell apart upon even a moment’s scrutiny of the Connecticut situation. If the polls leading up to the Dodd and Dorgan retirements were accurate, then both their seats would have leaned strongly Republican next November – and now only one of them does, leaving a net plus for the Democrats today.

So despite the historic problems faced by midterm incumbent parties and the specific troubles that afflict the Democrats in...