Call it Trump derangement syndrome, and recognize it for what it is: something that could end up snatching defeat from the jaws of victory for the Democratic party once again in 2018 and 2020.

Signs of that possibility are apparent in the polls. President Donald Trump’s job approval has remained low, by historical standards, but it has also remained pretty steady — and has been rising, just a bit, in recent weeks.

The standard pattern has been for presidents to start off their term with high honeymoon ratings and then sag somewhat in their second year unless buoyed (as both Bushes were) by perceived foreign policy successes.

What we saw in the midterm elections of 1994, 1998, 2006, 2010, and 2014 was the opposition party’s winning majorities in both houses of Congress, except for the Senate in 2010.