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Article snippet: In the 2006 documentary “Al Franken: God Spoke,” Mr. Franken, the comedian, activist and future senator from Minnesota, offered a quote that would prove prescient for more than its choice of verb: “Celebrity trumps ideology.” Mr. Franken shares little ideology in common with Donald J. Trump. But as former NBC stars, both men are examples of how politics has been celebritized — and now, of how political scandal has. Last Thursday, a radio newscaster, Leeann Tweeden, accused Mr. Franken of forcibly kissing her as they worked together in 2006 on a U.S.O. tour of the Middle East. She also produced a photo of Mr. Franken, the former “Saturday Night Live” star, groping at her chest for a photo as she slept. In the photo, Mr. Franken’s hands are stretched toward Ms. Tweeden’s breasts, but he’s not looking at her. He’s looking into the camera, with a broad smile on his face. His grin is implicating. It says that the joke is between him and you, the viewer, and that Ms. Tweeden is simply the prop. In 2006 Mr. Franken was already considering his 2008 Senate run, which gives the photo all the more disturbing resonance. The groping, it seems to say, is nothing to worry about, just part of the act that gave him entree into activism and then politics in the first place. He’s confident enough to snap a naughty-boy picture and trust his audience, including Ms. Tweeden, who received a copy of the photo, to keep it secret, to be good sports about it. It’s just showbiz. That dynami... Link to the full article to read more