If that were the case, the normalized search volume for the term would be fairly constant over time. But according to Google Trends it isn't http://www.google.c

If that were the case, the normalized search volume for the term would be fairly constant over time. But according to Google Trends it isn't http://www.google.com/trends?q=santorum http://www.google.com/trends?q=santorum . Further, you can see that the search traffic of other Republican presidential candidates has a similar pattern. So clearly right now, and for the past year, the vast majority of searches have been for the person rather than the supposed word. (And nothing definite can be said about what the intent was in the time before that.)