The tribal psychology of people when it comes to politics

From the Daily Beast:

When pollsters ask Republicans and Democrats whether the president can do anything about high gas prices, the answers reflect the usual partisan divisions in the country. About two-thirds of Republicans say the president can do something about high gas prices, and about two-thirds of Democrats say he can’t. But six years ago, with a Republican president in the White House, the numbers were reversed. Three-fourths of Democrats said President Bush could do something about high gas prices, while the majority of Republicans said gas prices were clearly outside the president’s control.

Dave Berri draws a sports analogy:

Fans of the opposite party are not against the President because he doesn’t agree with them on the issue.  They are against the President because he plays for the “wrong” team.  And unless he is willing to change teams ... , he can try to “reach across the aisle” all day and he will never make the other team’s fans happy.