Impossible to believe, but it has been a half century since Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, right after winning the California primary in the 1968 Democratic Presidential race.
The course of history changed dramatically with that horrendous event.
It led to the Presidency of Richard Nixon.
It led to the rise of the Right in American politics, begun under Nixon, greatly expanding under Ronald Reagan, and reaching its most destructive stage under Donald Trump.
It seems highly likely that Robert F. Kennedy would have been elected President, and would have transformed the future of America in a very different direction than it took at the time.
The war in Vietnam would have ended sooner, and saved many lives on both sides of the war.
The Supreme Court would have been dramatically different if RFK had had four appointments, instead of Richard Nixon.
The reforms of his brother, John F. Kennedy, and his successor, Lyndon B. Johnson, would have continued, and led to a more equitable, fair minded government.
Instead of taking steps backward, civil rights and civil liberties would have been greatly enhanced.
No one is saying that Robert F. Kennedy would have been a perfect President, and he had his own demons, including his association with Senator Joseph McCarthy in the 1950s, and his often secretive and narrow minded views and personality shortcomings that every human being has.
But it can be believed that Robert F. Kennedy would have made America a greater nation than it turned out to be in the past half century!
This is the time for my readers and supporters to read Chapter 10 of my book, ASSASSINATIONS, THREATS, AND THE AMERICAN PRESIDENCY: FROM ANDREW JACKSON TO BARACK OBAMA (Rowman Littlefield Publishers, 2015, Paperback 2017), available from the publisher, and from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Books A Million.
1968 was a tumultuous year in history. My one-and-only sibling was born April 14, 1968, which was Easter and ten days following the April 4, 1968 assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. And here we have remembrance that June 6, 1968, also 50 years ago, was the assassination of Robert Kennedy. I was not born until 1971. But, 1968 must have felt like a stunning year to live through for millions of people.
D, I recognized at the end of 1968 that ti was, as I saw it, and as many have since, the most tumultuous and historic year since 1945 and the end of World War II.
I also see 1989 and 2001 as equivalent tumultuous and historic years that stand out, and think 2018 MIGHT be in that category, depending on what else happens this year!
Welcome back D!
Princess Leia,
Thank you!
I hope you are doing well. Everyone, really.
I will be going Colorado in a few days. My maternal aunt turns 75 next week. We will celebrate her birthday. (My mother died 20 years ago. So, we keep in touch.)