GERMANTOWN, WI [ JG ] I’ve apparently ridden Mr. Fischer’s coattails to some degree of prominence, finding myself listed as the fourth most influential political blogger in this week’s BlogNetNews rankings following my stint as the “Franklin Now / This Just In” guest writer last Friday.

Writing for Kevin was the most fun I’ve had with a legal blood-alcohol level in quite some time and, insofar as there were no resulting arrests or lawsuits, I think it went quite well.

At one time I sided with many in the blogging community who considered the BNN ranking system to be a meaningless triviality.  But now that I’m in the top five (number four, actually… if I haven’t mentioned it already) I suddenly recognize this for the prestigious honor that it truly is.  BlogNetNews is to be commended for their perceptiveness, and lauded for their refined taste in online literature.  They dig me now, so naturally, I now dig them back.

I understand that some blog authors have taken issue with BNN‘s interspersion of racy advertising, preferring not to have their work cheapened by explicit depictions of girls in tiny bikinis or ads for Viagra merchants.  I, on the other hand, appreciate girls in tiny bikinis and, in the event I ever lose that perspective, will likely also appreciate Viagra merchants.

I only hope that the integrity of the BNN ranking system can be maintained, and that it won’t be skewed by bloggers who artificially bolster their ratings by repeatedly peppering their posts with lewd, popular search phrases like “girls in tiny bikinis” or “Viagra merchants”.

That would be wrong.

So would the artificial inflation of one’s popularity via the gratuitous inclusion of any or all of the following lascivious but popular Google search terms:

• breasts
• large breasts
• large juicy tender chicken breasts
• Herb Kohl
  or worse yet
• Herb Kohl’s recipe for large, juicy tender chicken breasts

My celebrity is already spiraling out of control.  I’ve noticed fans walking around in shirts with a big number “4″ on them in my honor.  Luckily, nobody seems to have recognized me yet, so I haven’t been mobbed by autograph seekers, but it’s probably just a matter of time.

But rest assured that, despite my new found fame, I vow to remain as humble as ever, which is really, really hard for somebody as awesome as me, Wisconsin’s fourth most influential political blogger.

I just hope you appreciate me as much as I do…