How many stooges?

By now we've all heard about the recent poll showing that more Americans can identify the Three Stooges than the three branches of government. I'm sure there will be much wringing of hands over this unfortunate statistic, but there must be a bright side. Let's face it: as long as most Americans can tell the difference between the Three Stooges and the three branches of government, all is not lost; when they start merging into one entity, then we're in big trouble.