Great analysis piece here:

theregister.co.uk/2009/11/19/g ...

"The general impression that Google's search results are entirely automated and objective extends to people thinking they're ranked by how true they are. An aura of saintly impartiality is certainly helpful in the Department of Definitely Not Evil, and Google's own execs reinforce the 'untouched by human hand' legend, even as Google's own explanatory statements shift beneath them, and Google's own lawyers contradict them."