Red brains versus blue brains

A new study says conservatives and liberals have differences in their brain chemistry.

If you've staked out a spot on either side of the "red" versus "blue" ideological divide, you probably already suspected this. But now, researchers say they have demonstrated actual neurological differences between the brains of liberals and conservatives.

According to the Sacramento Bee, scientists at New York University have discovered that those on opposite sides of the political fence use different parts of their brains when making instant decisions.

"Political attitudes are dispositional in nature, almost more like personalities," David Amodio, a psychology professor at NYU and the lead researcher on the study, told the Bee. "They're not necessarily a choice."

In truth, this really should come as no surprise to anyone. If you're a liberal, you have no doubt that conservatives have some sort of mental dysfunction, and the same is equally true, if not more so, when conservatives consider liberals' thought processes.

Yet, to have this borne out by actual science is quite impressive, particularly with an election cycle just getting underway.

Just think. Instead of casting a ballot, voters could just undertake a quick brain scan in order to have their political say. Of course, that would leave independents out of the picture. But that's a problem for another day.