Paging Dr. Bloor...

Calling others bonkers is merely an avocation for me, albeit one I enjoy immensely. Dr. Bloor does it for a living, which perhaps explains why he has been so reluctant to do so in this blog. ( I know I get antsy when asked to answer legal questions off the clock.)

But perhaps Dr. Bloor will favor us with a professional take on this story from a few days ago:

"A collective “I told you so" will ripple through the world of Bush-bashers once news of Christopher Lohse’s study gets out.

Lohse, a social work master’s student at Southern Connecticut State University, says he has proven what many progressives have probably suspected for years: a direct link between mental illness and support for President Bush.

Lohse says his study is no joke. The thesis draws on a survey of 69 psychiatric outpatients in three Connecticut locations during the 2004 presidential election. Lohse’s study, backed by SCSU Psychology professor Jaak Rakfeldt and statistician Misty Ginacola, found a correlation between the severity of a person’s psychosis and their preferences for president: The more psychotic the voter, the more likely they were to vote for Bush.

But before you go thinking all your conservative friends are psychotic, listen to Lohse’s explanation.

"Our study shows that psychotic patients prefer an authoritative leader," Lohse says. "If your world is very mixed up, there’s something very comforting about someone telling you, ‘This is how it’s going to be.'"

Failing such elucidation, I will choose to believe that Mr. Lohse is on to something.