Bloomberg.com: Margaret Carlson: "Jan. 26 (Bloomberg) -- I've long been searching for a
unified theory to explain the Bush administration, and yesterday
I got it. According to the New York Times, a soon-to-be-released
scientific study of self-described Democrats and Republicans
shows that partisan attachment in politics is akin to being
smacked out in love.
Common sense vanishes. Rational parts of the brain go dark.
The beloved can do no wrong.
The difference between falling in love and falling in line
politically is that partisans never wake up and see that the lawn
has grown weedy and the toothpaste cap is off. They stay
infatuated to the point where countervailing information simply
doesn't sink in.
In the study, Republican partisans didn't fault George W.
Bush for supporting Enron Corp. Chief Executive Officer Kenneth
Lay even after he was indicted and his employees lost their
pensions. Nor did committed Democrats turn up their noses at John
Kerry for saying he would overhaul Social Security if elected,
something a liberal would otherwise abhor."