In politics, there are several mental shortcuts that a skilled political operative can use to manipulate voters: Short Cut One The Drunkard's Search Conducting a drunkard's search a drunkard’s search is to look in the place that's easiest, rather than in the place most likely to yield results. Taken from an old joke about a drunkard who loses his car keys while unlocking his car and is found looking under a streetlamp down the road because the light is better, it has been an object of consideration in the social sciences since at least 1964.