The “I Want to Believe” mentality appears symptomatic of a larger trend of confusing objective reality with fictional narrative.

We seem to have become so accustomed to choosing what story we want to be told--whether by picking a movie or changing the TV channel--that we become petulant if we encounter anything not quite so accommodating in real life.

Thus, when Jimmy Carter troubled us with his talk of an American “malaise,” we quickly switched to Ronald Reagan, with his cheerier message about it being “Morning in America.”   No one has dared proclaim it to be anything but morning ever since.

While it is somewhat unsettling to find this type of mindset anywhere in the electorate, it is especially disturbing for it to be prevalent in people who call themselves “conservative.”

Historically, people of a conservative bent have been characterized by flinty-eyed skepticism.  The traditional conservative’s dubiousness about novel things reflected a certain seasoned experience in the ways of the world, where things aren’t always as simple as they seem, and where it can be prudent to require an objective and thorough demonstration of an innovation’s value.

Today, on any number of issues--from George W. Bush’s Iraq adventure to the teaching of evolution in public schools--people who call themselves “conservative” have traipsed off in the exact opposite direction.  They’re quick to latch onto things that sound nice to them, and reject things that don’t sound appealing. Only later do they display skepticism, for facts and objective evidence that run counter to what they’ve chosen to believe.

This is a habit that needs to be dropped with all possible haste.

For voters to set the course of a nation based on images they find appealing, rather than on the hard facts of the situations that confront us, is like...

...Well, it's like driving a car that, instead of a windshield, has a display screen showing the driver’s favorite movie.

The end result is only too predictable.