Remembering 1968: The loss of RFK

Fifty years ago, on June 5, 1968, Sen. Robert F. Kennedy was shot following his win in the California Democratic Primary. Journalist Pete Hamill says America lost something vital in the bullets fired that night at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. Correspondent Jim Axelrod talks with Hamill, and with Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, the eldest daughter of RFK; children's activist Marian Wright Edelman; and aide Peter Edelman about Kennedy's fight to address divisions in America, and about the future that might have been.
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[@chrisfinch8637]

RFK and MLK both died in the same year and they both made a big impact to the world and to the face of history. I know they are still deeply missed, after 5 decades. God bless them both.

[@msmithrandir561]

King 4/4/1968....RFk 6/6/1968

[@msmithrandir561]

MLK 4/4/68 and RFK 6/6/68 all hope gone

[@BlackBeard3]

@@aisha6984 it will stay like that forever

[@imheretotriggeryou2.07]

J. Edgar Hoover is deeply missed too.

[@MarkHarrison733]

RFK was a warmonger.

[@ahmednalayeh2656]

Robert Kennedy was kind down to earth man.

[@caltom1427]

I shook his hand in Oakland a few days before he was killed.

[@Mia7189]

This still breaks my heart. To imagine what could have been had this man been elected president. Instead, we got Nixon. A total opposite in every way.

[@donnymoney4222]

Nixon wasn't all that bad though....

[@MarkHarrison733]

Kennedy was a warmonger.

[@robertortiz-wilson1588]

Nixon was pretty good.

[@safartaqiyev1595]

He wasn't total opposite. I agree that RFK could have been one of the best presidents, but Nixon was a good president either, it was the media that portrayed him as pure evil. As for the complete opposite of Rfk ,it was Lbj.

[@horseygurl143]

I love the funeral train story. Kathleen still seems shocked at the amount of mourners who came to pay their respects to her father. Fifty years. RIP, Bobby.

[@teamcougars]

His ability to relate to all walks of life and his continued humble persona has made him a lasting and loving memory for many he would have been an incredible President 😢

[@silverlve70]

Men like RFK are solely missing today.

[@chrisfinch8637]

+silver70 The same can be said for his brother and Martin Luther King

[@caroledickerson5616]

@@chrisfinch8637 amen to that. 😭

[@MarkHarrison733]

There are many warmongers like RFK.

[@edithkennedy]

@@MarkHarrison733 stop commenting that under every comment because he wasn't

[@MarkHarrison733]

@@edithkennedy RFK was a vile racist warmonger.

[@golosamonica]

We will never see politicians with as much dedication and passion as the Kennedys

[@jb-vb8un]

meaningless assessment

[@moonlightfitz]

They couldn’t be faithful to their wives and you think they were good politicians😂

[@dadaevan]

Sins of the father, sins of the sons

[@MsVamPireChic]

⁠@@moonlightfitzWhat does being faithful to your spouse have to do with being able to lead a country? By that logic, most world leaders are incompetent.

[@moonlightfitz]

@@MsVamPireChic most leaders literally are incompetent 😂

[@krisxxxxw]

Wish we could get a candidate like Mr. Bobby Kennedy again. This piece was heartbreaking.

[@marywalters1181]

We do. His name is Bernie Sanders and he's going to be our next president.

[@krisxxxxw]

+Mary Walters I genuinely hope so.

[@hannejeppesen2887]

@@marywalters1181 I doubt it, Bernie although I believe he is sincere is no Bobby Kennedy. Bobby Kennedy managed to convey his passion for those who was left behind, or forgotten, WITHOUT making someone else the scapegoat. Today's politicians seem to want to either enrich the already rich at the expense of the middle class, or take from the rich or upper middle class and give to the less fortunate, this creates class warfare, which I believe is not a winning strategy. Robert Kennedy is my all time favorite politician, he was one of a kind we will mostly likely not see his like again, at least in my lifetime (I'm in my seventies). JFK was a close second, but he was more pragmatic, and not as passionate as RFK, he was more detached, although I believe he deeply cared about this country and wanted the best for everyone. I'm afraid most politicians today, care more for their party than the country as a whole. Certainly our current President feels that way, as I'm afraid many democrats do.

[@wildfire9280]

@@hannejeppesen2887 That's because 2020 is not 1968. The top marginal tax rate was still over 70%, the economy was tightly regulated, Bretton Woods was in force, etc. In spite of that RFK still rallied against the obscenely rich, and sought to unite black people and "poor whites" together. Which he showed signs of doing in the primaries, and would have done in the general until...

[@MarkHarrison733]

He was a warmonger.

[@richardhutchison3123]

52 years ago today this happened to our nation! RFK For President!

[@mdillow31]

I still miss Bobby, Thinking what could have been.

[@barbarastatham100]

The absolute greatest president that America never had.

[@ChalNjurshEp]

❤

[@AJMacDonaldJr]

“Aeschylus wrote: ‘Even in our sleep, pain that cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart until, in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom through the awful grace of God.’ What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence and lawlessness, but is love and wisdom, and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of justice towards those who still suffer within our own country, whether they be white or they be black… We can do well in this country. We will have difficult times. We’ve had difficult times in the past. And we will have difficult times in the future. It is not the end of violence; it is not the end of lawlessness; and it’s not the end of disorder. But the vast majority of white people and the vast majority of black people in this country want to live together, want to improve the quality of our life, and want justice for all human beings that abide in our land. Let us dedicate ourselves to what the Greeks wrote so many years ago: to tame the savageness of man and make gentle the life of the world. Let us dedicate ourselves to that, and say a prayer for our country and for our people.” ~ Robert F. Kennedy (April 4, 1968) kzbin.info/www/bejne/eHTVqZKraJ1la8k

[@hannejeppesen2887]

I love this, it is so profound and heartfelt and true. To bad NO politician speak with that kind of eloquence and passion today. In fact our current President when he speaks sounds just the opposite. He wants to keep the country divided, although I admired JFK ( I was a teen ager in Denmark when he was elected and assassinated) RFK is my absolutely favorite.

[@ricotheepic840]

Beautiful.

[@robschannel4512]

As a kid I remember watching the news with my mom who was crying. I remember seeing him in the pool of blood under his head. He would have been the next President. Only 42 years old.

[@MarkHarrison733]

He would have lost to Nixon.

[@lisabradford8180]

​@@MarkHarrison733 Nixon would have been felled by another Kennedy😊

[@edithkennedy]

@@MarkHarrison733 stop lying to yourself

[@MarkHarrison733]

@@edithkennedy Nixon would have crushed the racist warmonger in 1968.

[@edithkennedy]

@@MarkHarrison733 i don't think rfk who was a civil rights activist was racist. maybe in this day in age but especially in comparison with a republican he was pretty progressive for his time.

[@janiceharris132]

I was 13 years old. I remember the shock, I remember the funeral train.So very sad!

[@antoinekorner7232]

WHY! there is always a person that isn't satisfied with people changing the world

[@goldeneve]

I been asking that the same thing

[@erikboel6356]

The most inspirational American politician

[@libertyann439]

The memory of this man is etched in my life story. I was just11 that summer. But I was old enough to feel a great sense of loss.😢

[@terrigutierrez5122]

I was 11 as well. I went to school and did not believe my best friend when she told me what had happened. She took the newspaper to school with her and showed me. I was devastated. I still am.

[@jamiesmith143]

What might have been. So sad.

[@lespangen]

I remember the shock and horror of learning of his assassination since I thought he would have made a great president given his empathy and compassion for others and he was so very articulate

[@cdusza1]

The last of a true patriot. A man who truly wanted to make a difference.

[@Philosopher_w24]

Would of been one of our greatest Presidents.

[@mikealvord55]

Take off the rose glasses. He was way behind Humphrey and probably would not have won the nomination.

[@cbesthelper404]

@@mikealvord55 He would have won easily.

[@lespangen]

Absolutely

[@lespangen]

Agreed

[@lespangen]

Absolutely would have made a wonderful president

[@bradyhammerer1447]

Only Robert kennedy could of walked my walk for the people. No one else, period.

[@markdinkel-uh2je]

Everytime I hear a song from summer 68 reminds me of Bobby's death. Especially 'Angel of the Morning'.

[@praisebrown6113]

If RFK were still here, He would have been one heck of a President. Sad he was killed though I read about RFK I know deep down in my heart he would have been a great President I would see him as a two term President if he had not been killed. We Need People like RFK to stand for all the causes our world faces.

[@jb-vb8un]

like his incompetent brother, he was an elitist coward that office was bought with mob money

[@robertosso5210]

Hopefully Rfk can still become president thru his son Rfk junior!

[@midlifedude42]

Bobby❤️

[@michaellazzeri2069]

The wound-------the loss-------will never, ever, heal. Who we lost is irreplaceable.------------MJL 76 y/o

[@jorgejohnson451]

We have a responsibility to make better the world he left behind.

[@randallbargar348]

We lost so much when RFK and MLK were killed.

[@jasjfl]

Guess what? African Americans, and though not as disproportionately, whites living in rural areas in those same places RFK visited still live in conditions worse than parts of the third world. A U.N. report from less than a year ago said parts of Alabama had the worst poverty they'd seen in the developed world. Meanwhile we increased military appropriations by $800B in the new budget, and offered permanent tax breaks to corporations and temporary tax breaks to middle and lower income people.

[@Nikohere]

Ted was never that uplifting with a free spirited hope encouraging outspoken type of personality like his brothers JFK & RFK

[@loveislife-sd3fm]

I think it is because Ted was left with picking up the pieces of his slain brothers as well as their families. He had to bury many family members including John Jr. He had the weight of all of this on his shoulders. God Bless him.

[@6400az]

Uplifting ?? The man had the weight of being father figure to JFK'S and RFK'S children and the heartbroken family members. I bet there were times when his pain/depression must have been overwhelming given so many tragedies. Never mind his political career, he was a great man for what he did for his family.

[@pb7491]

Bobby wasn't a man without faults, but regardless of that, he was a great man. I'm from the UK, but he'd get my vote. Loss to the world.

[@Gene-kl1br]

Only Democrat to listen to as i did in person . And felt his truth was my same truth . The void is fresh today .

[@dianeritter6987]

thanks for the tribute to America s very best human & an amazing man & his work

[@quincybrown8146]

Hello it’s such a beautiful speech

[@caroledickerson5616]

The sun set that day and it will never rise again. 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭.

[@markmiller3308]

RFK’s daughter is right time doesn’t heal all wounds. I think they become scars and no matter how long it is since those original wounds “healed” the scars are there and looking at them reminds you why they are there and brings it all back to them being fresh wounds. Personal experience in this.

[@jb-vb8un]

ask LEE REMICK & Carlos Marcello

[@jimkonen1913]

If one was to impose a "mental" split screen of Kennedy's election and, the last election in this country the juxtaposition of what's important to Americans is shocking. The optimism, and hope for positive change in America was a dream that most Americans we're willing to risk then. This is a huge shift in contrast to the hatred, greed and violence that won the last presidency and, has continued to fuel the new uncertain direction of this country. I hope Mr. Trump goes out with a bang and takes us all with him. Maybe at this point, the world is too good for humanity.

[@ks_ig2728]

RFK could’ve done so much good if he did become president. Nowadays we have his nutcase of a son who is the total opposite of his father.

[@theynot0058]

Could not make myself watch any further...

[@jimlavallee4418]

I still miss his compassion and hope at a time of great polarization.

[@hoseamapondera]

Why am I crying? That train scene!

[@Saybleu]

RFK‘s daughter Kathleen was a doll when she was young.

[@anthonyrich-7401]

Love and miss you Bobby!

[@mrkeno1000]

On election night I woke up around 1 AM I had school the next day. I turned on my tv that I had in my bedroom to check on the election results and saw Jerry Dunphy a famous LA anchorman I just stared at the screen and said Oh God not again. It was Dallas all over again. What a God awful year 1968 was

[@Keith_M00N66]

I loved Bobby more than his late bro. He talked to ppl, i repeat : he didn't see humans beings or say to them "bla bla bla... No, Bobby WATCHED the people white or green or yellow or black and he TALKED to them without notes, with his heart, his education, a father of 11 , not a saint at all BUT he was really SINCERE . John wasn't IMHO, the best President of USA from the Kennedy's family and he did good things but Bobby would have been really better than his ols bro in WH. Maybe Ted would have done great things but he lost 2 big bros, i understood him....

[@robmoir7524]

I don t recall 50 years ago today though I was around then

[@DouglasMoreland-qd5cz]

What could have been..we will never know

[@gloriavivanco4879]

Gran ser humano de LUZ 🙏❤

[@williamlambert7928]

I was about 6 weeks old when this happened.

[@LindaMerchant-bq2hp]

I think RFK would of been a great president ❤

[@georgemallory797]

It's hard to look at the photo where they're holding his head up and he's still awake and aware and alive. He might've lived if that had happened with today's medical technology. I was only a year old and actually have a couple memories of the summer of 1968, amazing as that sounds, but I don't remember this. I'm glad. RIP, Bobby.

[@unknown-lf6zx]

Left 11 children without a father. Sirhan should not be paroled. He also shot 5 other people too. Such a sad loss. I’m considering RFK jr for my vote for President 2024.

[@LysolTheGiver]

Now they killed his granddaughter and great grandson

[@ggmm6182]

I've never seen a politician so universally loved by all races of people, black people, white people etc he must of been a very inspiring man

[@adrianatamura6640]

Guess what y’all? RFK’s son is now running for president!

[@anthonyrich-7401]

Love and miss you Bobby! 4:01

[@IsakAidee]

9:24 - That's "Wounds heal but scars fade". Sounds like she never heard of it, because I wouldn't call that a wound. But maybe I'm just autistic who knows

[@LindaMerchant-bq2hp]

I still say LBJ knew of both kennedys shootings

[@lisalasoya2898]

I was mesmerized by your hard words in saving our children. But, it still seems to be the worst poison in our society, you should look at the hardness & torture on their faces, you can see the brain damage it endured. We should do something for their future, not just sweep it under the carpet, this should not happened whether in war of peace time, its nasty.

[@dianaadobea4823]

The assassination of rfk was really sad when he won the presidential campaign 😢😢😢rest well rfk

[@larry1824]

I havent sung or stood for national anthem once since he passed. I'm 75 and proud of it.

[@russellsteventon8069]

Good on you!

[@larry1824]

@@russellsteventon8069 thanks. I've been told to leave been called a traitor and even reported a threat to s friend who's a retired FBI agent. Scary stuff mate

[@TvDaddyAndTheTabloidArmy]

same

[@robertortiz-wilson1588]

What. Why?

[@larry1824]

@@robertortiz-wilson1588 he was the only politician I trusted ever on either side. His son is a shame

[@avramwurf5804]

The best president in history that we never had. No one since then, but then there is the least of the evil as I see today.

[@samuell4775]

November 20 2022 RFK Birthday what might have been

[@6400az]

Poor Robert, this man shot in the head and bleeding to death is attempting to speak . Unbelievable ,( 7:19

[@billkittleman9631]

Time certainly does NOT heal deep everlasting wounds .. but I think it does ease them to a degree ..

[@lechat8533]

R.I.P. Robert F. Kennedy! It would be so healing if RFK Jr. would become the next US President.

[@bobyriverside]

It would be empty symbolism. The kind of empty that Bobby himself would never have reached down to.

[@explainedinenglish]

I disagree. His courage and truthfulness is inspiring me. I don't see what other contender even comes close right now. While he isn't and cannot be his father, please keep an open mind and heart.

[@amapnamedpam]

hope his son doesn't get assassinated now

[@ADAMSIXTIES]

55 years ago.

[@robertadams6184]

Whatcouldhavebeen

[@alexandarvoncarsteinzarovi3723]

When good men fought, died and became martyrs, never forgive nor forget,

[@davidpeek191]

😢

[@clifftanton8385]

They wanted hin out

[@ny6u]

Even if Sirhan could bring Kennedy back from the dead, he'd still have to complete his LIFE SENTENCE before he can be paroled.

[@TheWoodland12]

I hate the term African Americans were black by saying African Americans you forget our white side. We come from whites and Africans both.

[@andreastrutz7416]

Robert war der Einzigeste, der von den Kennedys Klasse ,Format und Bildung gehabt hat

[@TheKingofjune]

What?

[@badlourising]

Angels are praying RFK Jr is placed safely in white house! Slide over Biden

[@bobyriverside]

What is this RFK Jr talk all about?!? Even he himself would not indulge in such talk. We need to put our best forward -- not cheapshot copycat symbols. No offense to RFK Jr -- But it's on a different highway than the original discussion was. I'm almost embarrassed to be part of this thread if it doesn't get on a legitimate track.

[@explainedinenglish]

I agree, Gerald. RFK Jr. has his own courage and is an honorable man with ideas that will help the country. May he be safe and may Americans soften their hearts and sharpen their minds enough to see.

[@andrenewcomb3708]

Then Chicago happened. And then Kent State. And a long line of mistakes by Honey Boo-boo.

[@DJS11811]

The CIA could not stand the idea of RFK being prsident. Sirhan had a 7 shot gub, he were 13 shots. Sirhan was in front of him, his faal wound came from behind.

[@JohnRoberts-wk6rf]

Loss? The only loss there was to his family.

[@desivideshi8372]

🙏🏻💐

[@darlenehunter4689]

Can’t believe they let him out of prison 🖤🖤😱🥊

[@yuvegotmale]

June 5 th 1968 was my high school graduation, I found out about RFK when I got home later that night......he would have been elected POTUS..............

[@nathanas64]

I was too young to remember Bobbie’s assassination. I’m hard core conservative but I admire the Kennedys except perhaps Ted Kennedy. Definitely an intelligent bunch of kids. JFK RFK and Joseph P Kennedy were ambitious and at the same time the were patriots and were a unifiers

[@asanta2023]

After the death of JFK and MLK..,RJK should have left politics completely.

[@robertf.kennedy8268]

...

[@trollerofromania]

what abot jfk?

[@robfrancis8690]

We lost Bobby and gained Jimmy, a new representative of clowncracy rule.

[@emeraldkimble7602]

Triple h Vo humprey got dem nomination

[@robertosso5210]

RFK JR. 2024!!!!!

[@explainedinenglish]

Amen!

[@emeraldkimble7602]

Metrodomer got nomination hhh

[@pennyjohnson6095]

One dropped from site one left one they shot

[@SongSwan]

Men make poor gods

[@ahmednalayeh2656]

The Kennedys were great.

[@subadrasankaran4148]

The same jackoli killed him also

[@pacificoast82]

Jane Pauley just shouldn’t host Sunday Morning. Her uber chipper intros are at times utterly inappropriate, and always annoying. I miss Charles Osgood, and before him, Charles Kuralt. But Osgood did a beautiful job of stepping in for Charles Kuralt, which I thought would be all but impossible.

[@bobyriverside]

Interesting. I've got no bone to pick with Kuralt, but you might want to read up on HIS history. Lots of skeletons in that closet. I think it's time to get out of this thread. It's spending integrity it hasn't bothered to earn yet.

[@theynot0058]

So Nixon ran unopposed?

[@larry1824]

After he and MlK I realized anybody could be killed got any reason

[@johnquinn6351]

The rich will win banking on the misfortunes of the poor.

[@susannebass1883]

Rip Kennedys. 🙏🙏🙏

[@TvDaddyAndTheTabloidArmy]

Hamil was a celebrity groupie - and he apparently didn't question deeply: he suggests Sirhan Sirhan, "a young nut with a pistol" 🙄 was the murderer of RFK and not Fred Dutton.