I decided to look back at what won the category since 2000 and most of them were indeed for commercial reasons, rather than political.
2012: "Skyfall" - Skyfall (won, because it was a hugely popular song from a widely loved movie)
2011: "Man or Muppet" - The Muppets (won, because that was both a strange year for Best Song and to honour the Muppets' legacy)
2010: "We Belong Together" - Toy Story 3 (won, because Toy Story 3 was a hugely beloved movie)
2009: "The Weary Kind" - Crazy Heart (won, because Jeff Bridges was the Best Actor frontrunner, so plenty of voters saw this movie and this song is apparently sung in a pivotal scene - Note: haven't seen this one)
2008: "Jai Ho" - Slumdog Millionaire (won, because the Oscars absolutely adored this movie. Slumdog only lost in one category)
2007: "Falling Slowly" - Once (won, because the song was a hit, there was a Cinderella story attached and the Enchanted songs likely split the votes)
2006: "I Need to Wake Up" - An Inconvenient Truth (won, because environmentalism was the big theme of that year's show)
2005: "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp" - Hustle & Flow (won, because...actually, this is the only headscratcher of the bunch. It was...catchy? I dunno.
)
2004: "Al Otro Lado del Rio" - The Motorcycle Diaries (won, because I guess the movie was well-liked and there was no real frontrunner that year. Any of the five probably had equal chances)
2003: "Into the West" - The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (won, because that was basically the "let's honour the Rings trilogy" show)
2002: "Lose Yourself" - 8 Mile (won, because it was a hit song and Eminem was a hugely popular musician at the time. Important to note: He beat U2, for a song that was partly dedicated to 9/11. So not the first year Bono was nominated for a song inspired by a culture-changing event. "The Hands That Built America" also won the Golden Globe)
2001: "If I Didn't Have You" - Monsters, Inc. (won, because it was a time when animated films consistently won this category and partly as a way to finally end Randy Newman's losing streak)
2000: "Things Have Changed" - Wonder Boys (won, because Bob Dylan is a very respected songwriter)
"I Need to Wake Up" is really the only song in the past twelve years that won for political reasons. And An Inconvenient Truth was a much more widely seen film than Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom. That's not even getting into the 90s where every winner was a chart-topping hit from a popular movie.
