Memories Of Robert F. Kennedy

CBS' Jeff Greenfield Worked On RFK's 1968 Campaign - Now He Shares Remembrances Of The Man

(CBS)  On the morning of June 5, 1968, millions of Americans woke to the shocking news that New York Sen. Robert Kennedy had been shot after winning California's Democratic presidential primary. Kennedy - 42 years old - died the next day. The senator's campaign staff included a young man named Jeff Greenfield, who is now, of course, CBS News' senior political correspondent. Now, on the 40th anniversary of RFK's assassination, Greenfield shares his memories.

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When you look back 40 years, there's always a danger of buying into myth; of romanticizing a time or a prominent figure. But after spending hours looking at old films of Robert Kennedy's 1968 campaign, I'm convinced that what I remembered-and admired-was something very real.

There was, first of all, the campaign itself. Since it was my first glimpse of presidential politics - I was 24 years old, working as a junior speechwriter - I didn't know then, how remarkable it was. The controlled hysteria of the campaign plane, the size and intensity of the crowds, the sea of hands and faces, and at times near-frenzy.

There was also a lot of humor. Robert Kennedy had very little patience with the platitudes of politics, and he often mocked them - and himself. Listen to him explanation to the citizens of Pomona, Calif., why he won't put on the oversize sombrero they gave him:

Kennedy said: "What if its too big? What if it's too small? Then it'll fall down over my ears and you'll be embarrassed that it's too big. Let me try it on at home."

The crowd implored him to try it on.

Kennedy said: "I'll say this, if I'm elected president of the United States with your help, the first day I'm in the White House, I'll put the hat on."

And at a California college, he began a speech with the obligatory quote: "Thomas Jefferson once wrote that a little rebellion now and then is a good thing. But If I'm elected president … don't try it."

Apart from playing with his audiences, he would also challenge them. The most enduring memories of his appearances for me is how he would push his listeners into thinking.

When talking to college students about why he opposes draft deferments for college students: "As you stay here and sit here and debate all these questions and talk about the morality of some of these problems of the poor and all of these other difficulties, and then say a person who has the right and the ability because of maybe what his father did or mother did, or place that he happens to live, has the right to go to a college or a university and therefore doesn't have to be drafted and a poor boy who happens to be black has to be drafted. How you can argue that and state that?"

He would condemn violence and lawlessness in the ghetto, but then add this: "But what is also necessary is that we understand one another. That you understand their problems and that the black people of the United States understand that you are concerned about them."

He was also ready to challenge himself. When he turned against the War in Vietnam, he would always include this: "And when the history is going to be written about this conflict, I'm obviously going to have to take my share of personal responsibility. I happen to think I learned something from that."

At the heart of Robert Kennedy was a sense of passion, even outrage at conditions he often called "unacceptable." He was a Democrat who hated welfare, not just for the anger it stirred among taxpayers, but mostly because of what it did to the poor:

"They might have wanted fathers and they might have wanted husbands. We have given them instead checks and a dole," he said.

t all came to an end in a hotel kitchen in Los Angeles. But my last memories are not of that moment - but of the train ride that took his body from New York to Washington - a train ride that stretched for eight hours.

Inside, there was something of an Irish wake; family members greeting friends and campaign workers, telling old campaign stories.

But every time we looked out the window, and saw the countless tens of thousands gathered to say goodbye - kids and Cub scouts and Little leaguers, veterans in their old uniforms, that sense of loss was overwhelming.

People still ask, "what if?" Could he have been nominated, could he have been elected, could he have governed effectively?

We don't know, can't know. But did we lose a rare kind of public figure? That I think we do know.

[amazedd]

And, I''d just like to add, I hope Caroline finds Obama a good VP.

[amazedd]

Don''t cry for me Argentina
The truth is I never left you
All through my wild days
My mad existence
I kept my promise
Don''t keep your distance

[teresap45]

I WAS VERY YOUNG WHEN ROBERT KENNEDY WAS KILLED, BUT I HAVE SEEN ALOT OF FOOTAGE OF THAT DAY AND I HAVE READ BOOKS ON THE KENNEDY FAMILY AND ROBERT. I WONDER WHAT STATE THE COUNTRY WOULD HAVE BEEN LIKE HAD JOHN OR ROBERT HADN''T BEEN KILLED? THERE WILL NEVER BE ANOTHER PERSON LIKE ROBERT OR JOHN KENNEDY IN THE WHITE HOUSE AND THAT''S VERY SAD. LOOK WHAT WE HAVE HAD TO PUT UP WITH THE LAST 8 YEARS, AN IDIOT WHO DOESN''T KNOW WHAT THE HELL HE IS DOING. PLEASE NO MCCAIN, HE''S JUST ANOTHER BUSH IN DISGUISE.

[ann3332]

you know what i don like about the freedom speech it gave you right tear people slandering them to pieces. but you know one day its going to comeback on those that done and they are going to wonder why it happen. they just need to remmeber all those time they slander people that they didnt even know

[michellem99-2009]

I became catholic in 86. I wanted to. I know some one who birthday is 9/11.I wished him happy Birthday. Good God Allmighty to not wish a child Happy Birthday just cos of this is wrong.SHE SHOULD HAVE WISHED YE HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YE AS THAT IS YER DAY. people have died on one''s birthday but IY IS RUDE TO OVER LOOK THAT CHILD WAS BORN ON A DAY THAT IS MEANINGFUL TO HIM/HER. I AM SORRY THAT YER DAY IS SO SAD. I wonder what that man could had done if not shot and killed .

[michellem99-2009]

My memory of June 5 was in 74 we became high school graduates. I did see it live on TV as it happened as I was in foster homes. I did not have access to the paper or that much tv as they did senor in the home tv. I did hear of some as it happened. I am a ware that a lot of ye are young.

[diny610]

I personally think it%u2019s a shame that he%u2019s not honored in the same way we honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Surely his vision for all men to live together as brothers was at least comparable and should not be understated, rather, it should be memorialized. In 1968 in my Catholic grammar school we unabashedly started following the campaign of Bobby Kennedy, quite possibly because he was Catholic, but my classmates and I, as pre-teens in the %u201CPeace, Love%u201D generation, loved him for what he stood for. We talked about him and prayed he would be President, end the Vietnam war and do what was right for our country and for all mankind. I remember very well the early morning hours of June 6, 1968, when my idealistic world had crumbled into pieces. If only we could all put into action Bobby''s own words: "But we can perhaps remember, if only for a time, that those who live with us are our brothers, that they share with us the same short moment of life; that they seek, as do we, nothing but the chance to live out their lives in purpose and in happiness, winning what satisfaction and fulfillment they can. Surely, this bond of common faith, this bond of common goal, can begin to teach us something. Surely, we can learn, at least, to look at those around us as fellow men, and surely we can begin to work a little harder to bind up the wounds among us and to become in our own hearts brothers and countrymen once again.%u201D

Thank you, Bobby. God Bless you.

[michellem99-2009]

Don''t Forget ye been lied to. I can *see* right thru bush. Ye get off yer asre and read the constution and that is what our Fathers wrote and ye know that there are 3 houses of govt. They are there for a reason. The framers wrote it in case this issue is not preshappened. Bush is weong, Ye going to let let one man steal ye blind. Read about that bush family ye love so much. Bush is wrong as ye let him get in yer head.

[michellem99-2009]

Ever heard the term yer chit is weak. ThaFt is bush and all them are now running for the oval office. It is a power trip. No dear it was the bloody govt that killed him. Just as they lie to us about 9/11. The govt The govt killed JFK,RFK,MLK,jr,. Ye will never find the truth as they are waiting for us older ones to die. I am 53. I was 9 when the govt killed JFK.I say the govt as LBJ wanted to be in the oval office so bad. Money talks ans bull ***** walks. Ever wondered why they taught a watered down history as the govt wants to controls us. Believe the lies..I can see right thru bush..I don''t like any one running for that office. Ron Paul he is a bloody Texarse. A medical doc.

[michellem99-2009]

I saw it live on the tv as it happened and I had no idea of who he who and the same in 64 when Teddy was shot in the back. They broke in with thwm sp reports. They did do a better job telling the news as it happened than they do today. They told it as it happened. Today they clean up the mews as they are scared of how we as a public will take it. Life is not as pretty as they want to tell as washed ver. of the news.

[boston1954]

I was young when Bobby Kennedy died; I remember walking to school with my transitor radio on and hearing that he had been shot. I remember watching the train on television and the nation''''s somber mood. As a youngster who was just old enough to remember JFK''''s death (I was 6 when he died) and then Martin Luther King''''s death, it seemed that our nation''''s time to have heroic leadership was past.
Whether that feeling has ben borne out, I''''ll leave others to debate; each year I have three dates to remember those feelings and think about what might have been.
Whether you like their politics or there personal lives, pause for a moment to thank the Kennedy and King families for their sacrifices in the service of our country and consider how you can make a difference in this world. Think on the main message I took from Senator Kennedy and Reverend King...don''''t dwell on our differences, be they political, social or moral, instead celebrate our similarities and our shared humanity.
Not a bad message to leave this world, huh? Posted by Charlieot
____
That was BEAUTIFUL!! Sometimes I think I am getting to the point where I don''t want to read these posts anymore, and then someone comes along who has a mind and a heart.

[mexinvasion]

RFK had to be eliminated because he was going to expose too much corruption. He was going to try to introduce honor and integrity to our government, and that couldn''t be tolerated. Many people know that all the cameras and recorders recorded more shots being fired than what Sirhan''s gun held. He doesn''t even remember doing it. The security guard behind RFK is the one who shot him in the back of the head. And another thing. RFK remained in a vegetative state until he finally died in 1975.

[thgdriver]

Talking about memories!!

Did you know today is the 64th anniversary of D-Day in Normandy?

You can''t find one word about it at CBS. It''s sad they decided to ignore that fact.

God bless the soldiers who fought and died in the largest land invasion in human history. Their efforts and sacrifice kept our first amendment in place.

[credibility2]

It was horrible enough learning the morning of June 5th that Bobby Kennedy had been shot the night before, but it was even worse when I awakened the morning of June 6th, my birthday, expecting my mother to wish me a happy birthday as I readied to go to my classes at city college, but instead telling me that he died. We were till in raw grief over the King assassination in April, and now Kennedy. As if all of this grief and turmoil wasn''t enough, more upheaval and grief would hit our nation; this time it would be in Chicago, my home town, where the Democratic Convention would convene amidst mass protests and rioting. 1968 was a year of bloodshed, both here and in Vietnam.

[cfin5]

......Besides, I believe that RFK would have gotten us out of Vietnam far quicker and would have been a much better President than LBJ.

[cfin5]

Cfin5, you''''re starting to sound like Singer Rick and all his Hate muslims BS ...... You don''''t have to lie, in order to promote a political view - It''''s UNAmerican. Cheers!

Posted by parrot123 at 09:41 AM : Jun 06, 2008------ Oh really? Its apparent that Sirhan Sirhan, though his parents were Palestinian Christians, didn''t know who he was himself by hopping around Christian denominations and practicing with the occult. Didn''t he kill RFK on the one year anniversary of the 1967 "6 day war" in Israel? What am I supposed to think about that? I look at what his actions were instead of where he had been. I didn''t lie at all according to these facts. That would be un-American in my eyes to do otherwise. All I want to know is the truth no matter whose toes get stepped on.

[parrot123-2009]

RFK was killed by a Palestian Christian in response to RFK being pro Israel. Sirhan Sirhan is still in jail 40 years later. If he had killed a mere mortal like the people who post here, he would have been out 30+years ago. We need equal justice for all.
Posted by downsteamjim

If you will go back and read the transcripts from the trial, Sirhan was convicted for his attack on the American political system, not for his attack on an individual. He was sentenced to death that was later commuted. He is consistently turned down for parole for his lack of remorse for his crime and based on his psychological profiles.
Posted by haoli25 at 03:48 AM : Jun 06, 2008

I was too young for any understanding of things in his regard. However, I do remember after doing a little research of the wheres and whys of his death, that the news media was doing a good job at hiding the fact it was a muslim that killed him. Same as Arch Duke Ferdinand''''s slayer......Uh, what''''s been going on here the last one hundred years?
Posted by cfin5 at 09:01 AM : Jun 06, 2008


Cfin5, you''re starting to sound like Singer Rick and all his Hate muslims BS ...... You don''t have to lie, in order to promote a political view - It''s UNAmerican. Cheers!

[victimsofgra]

Obama is a wolf in sheeps clothing.

If he wins, we are in big trouble.
If McCain wins, we are in big trouble.

We have no choice with those 2. You are all being fooled.
Ron Paul is the best candidate. He is still in the race.
WHY DOESN''T THE MEDIA REPORT ON HIM?

And don''t forget, according to the National Security and Homeland Security Presidential Directive, passed last year, IF ANOTHER SO CALLED "TERRORIST" ATTACK HAPPENS BUSH WILL REMAIN PRESIDENT UNTIL NECESSARY.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/05/20070509-12.html

[cfin5]

I was too young for any understanding of things in his regard. However, I do remember after doing a little research of the wheres and whys of his death, that the news media was doing a good job at hiding the fact it was a muslim that killed him. Same as Arch Duke Ferdinand''s slayer......Uh, what''s been going on here the last one hundred years?

[suecostarn]

I find it very disturbing that so many do not understand the impact the Kennedys had on our present day America. I did not like a lot of things that went on at that time but I am smart enough to see the changes they brought to our system and lives. How can so many not??? WE would be much the worse off without their influence and work.