Sarah Palin Is the Howard Stern of Politics

If you had any lingering doubts about the interplanetary force that is Sarah Palin, the following information should end them. According to Google, Sarah Palin's last name was searched more over the last week than the last names of President Obama, VP Biden, former GOP nominee John McCain, and current GOP 2012 front-runner Mike Huckabee.

Combined.

Of course, not all of these searches are by Palin supporters. Indeed, according to recent polls, Palin's hated nearly as much as she's loved. But the search levels do show public interest and the intensity of that interest. And it is high. Very, very high.

It reminds me of a classic exchange from Howard Stern's movie, Private Parts:

Researcher: The average radio listener listens for eighteen minutes. The average Howard Stern fan listens for - are you ready for this? - an hour and twenty minutes.
Pig Vomit: How can that be?
Researcher: Answer most commonly given? "I want to see what he'll say next."
Pig Vomit: Okay, fine. But what about the people who hate Stern?
Researcher: Good point. The average Stern hater listens for two and a half hours a day.
Pig Vomit: But... if they hate him, why do they listen?
Researcher: Most common answer? "I want to see what he'll say next."

It appears that, love her or hate her, people - including the media - are desperate to see what Sarah does next. It remains to be seen whether that power turns out to be a good thing for the GOP.