FISA, girl-on-girl action, and perspective from the Google

For those of us political junkies deeply steeped in campaign news on a 24/7 basis, it sometimes helps to take a step back, and use "the Google" to see what most folks are actually focused on.

Now, granted, the Obama campaign has taken America by storm, but just to put things in perspective:

• "Barack Obama" = 6,210,000 search results
• "Britney Spears" = 79,800,000

And yes, some issues are hot in our world, but....

• "FISA" = 463,000 results
• "Girl on girl action" = 604,000

The nomination process might be captivating us junkies, but...

• "Superdelegates" = 3,280,000
• "Superbowl" = 18,500,000

And we might be digging deeply into policy specifics, but...

• "Hillary Clinton" AND "health care" = 508,000
• "Paris Hilton" AND "sex tape" = 955,000

The point of all this? Well, number one, that I am happy to finally have a "research" excuse to Google things like "girl on girl action." But more importantly, perhaps it should give us some perspective as we move (hopefully soon) into the general election.

At a meta level, we shouldn't be surprised that humans are a bit more interested in sex than politics. After all, when it comes down to it, we're basically just well dressed monkeys. At a meta level, we know this. But as the election season moves on, and as we get more and more into this stuff on a detailed, granular level, let's keep in mind that not everyone is like us, and not everyone has the same priorities.

Does this mean we should start dressing our candidates in slinky outfits and start having rallies at "Hooters?" No. But as we work to entice voters to our side, let's remember that the percentage of true political junkies out there is fairly small. Our target audience -- voters -- are not clones of us.

And let's remember that for the general electorate, we might need to start engaging on a much more basic level. Not because they're stupid, but because they're simply not as focused. Well, some are stupid. But not all.

But don't get too down, there's still hope:

• "Politics" = 435,000,000
• "Porn" = 275,000,000

Hey, maybe we well dressed monkeys are evolving after all.

(cross posted at DailyKos)