As David Letterman put it, "George W. Bush is scheduled to be sworn in on Saturday, so time is really running out for Al Gore."
In all seriousness, the Lycos 50 spent the past year tracking the presidential candidates. Today, in honor of the inauguration, we're tracking the new administration. A new cabinet means a number of new names in the spotlight and a number of new searches as well.
Other than the Prez-to-be himself, the man in the spotlight is definitely Attorney General-designate John Ashcroft. Ashcroft, who began his confirmation hearings Tuesday, is under heavy fire for his conservative positions on issues such as abortion, gun control, and affirmative action. A number of liberal groups have formed a coalition to block his nomination, and seven percent of searches for Ashcroft specify Stop Ashcroft. On the other side, 3.5 percent of searches asked for the website JohnAshcroftYes.com.
Searches for Ashcroft were virtually nonexistent during his Senate race against the late Mel Carnahan. They began to go up when he was named AG-designate, and they tripled this week after doubling the week before. Ashcroft received more searches last week than either Beanie Babies or the NASDAQ. Ashcroft received 40 percent more searches than video game character Lara Croft, who is much less conservative than he is (at least in clothing choices).
Here are last week's most-searched names from Bush Administration: The Sequel, along with the percentage of searches they received compared to The Big W.
In addition, we've noted a musical artist who received a comparable number of searches last week. Not does that lead to a lot of fun comparisons (Condoleezza Rice is the Nina Simone of Bush II), it also allows us to sneak in a mention of Lycos Music's exclusive Dave Matthews Band downloads, featuring the new single "I Did It" as well as behind-the-scenes video footage. That's something both the pro- and anti- Ashcroft forces can enjoy.
President George W. Bush (100%)
Elvis Presley
Attorney General John Ashcroft (63.6%)
Dave Matthews Band
Ex-Labor Nominee Linda Chavez (38.6%)
Jay-Z
Interior Sec. Gale Norton (14.2%)
Whitney Houston
Labor Sec. Elaine Chao (14.1%)
Neil Diamond
Sec. of State Colin Powell (12.6%)
Billy Gilman
Defense Sec. Donald Rumsfeld (6.7%)
Boyzone
Vice President Dick Cheney (5.5%)
Good Charlotte
Energy Sec. Spencer Abraham (3.9%)
The Cranberries
Nat. Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice (3.4%)
Nina Simone
Education Sec. Rod Paige (3.3%)
Blue Oyster Cult
Transportation Sec. Norman Mineta (2.1%)
Social Distortion
HHS Sec. Tommy Thompson (2.0%)
Violent Femmes
