Has been DEALT a "reality check"???

It seems to me that in just a few months of examining the PDB (president's daily brief) and other highly sensitive documents that can determine the nation's safety, President Obama has simply been dealt a reality check: On some occasions, the government needs to keep information out of public hands. It probably won't be the only time that Obama learns that stump speech rhetoric won't always match up with real-world complexities when occupying the White House.




"has been dealt a reality check"

Could someone help me to understand this sentence?

Two parts are puzzling me.

1 deal: give out a card

2 reality check: An assessment to determine if one's circumstances or expectations conform to reality.

Here is what I think it means: Obama has been given a situation(like getting a card), that he must operate according to the reality rather than kept dwelling in the "stump rhetoric" phase during the campaign. So the metaphor is that "it's like he's getting a card of facing the reality"???