...or at least we don’t think we are. Studies show that Republicans have a much higher opinion of their mental health than Democrats. Other variables, such as income, can’t account for much of the difference, and so being a Republican is clearly a significant cause of self-reported sanity. It could be that Republicans are as crazy as Democrats, but have a manly sense of self-confidence that causes them not to notice. Or it could be that Democrats just whine more and are angling for mood brighteners. (Thanks to Rob Jeffrey.)
No one is touching this, perhaps because it seems like such a subjective study. While I like the conclusions that seem to be drawn, that "self-reported" part makes the science of the thing suspect.
This suggestion, by a neuropsychiatrist and brain-imaging expert, might help discern actual brain pathology. Brain scans seem much more scientific, though they might be nothing more than phrenology for our day. A national leader with brain problems can potentially cost millions of people their lives. is indisputable, but might not a politically motivated doctor of neuropsychiatry decide that Republican brain patterns were indications of mental disorder? If there were such a pattern, couldn't it define political pathology? I know people who would say so.