Celebrity politics

Reflecting on Al Franken's evident election in Minnesota and Caroline Kennedy's possible appointment to Hillary Clinton's Senate seat, Dan Riehl writes:

With little focus on traditional civics education in our schools producing a growing population less interested in substantive issues and more focused on the next new American idol, perhaps it shouldn't be a big surprise.

Fame is a funny thing. Forty-five years after John F. Kennedy's assassination, his daughter yet retains that aura, while more recent presidential children (e.g., Amy Carter) have slipped into oblivion. It's easier for the Kennedy clan to maintain that aura because (a) Ted has kept the political franchise in operation, and (b) Joe Kennedy was smart enough to evade the estate tax by stashing cash in an offshore tax shelter in Fiji.