He was that rare combination of toughness and empathy. He also represents the best of social Catholicism.

An entire generation of strong, fair, sane and dynamic leadership was wiped out in less than a 5-year span. And it was RFK’s murder that truly slammed the door on everything, as that same year, Nixon was elected, and the country really went off-course, and never truly recovered.

The U.S. would likely be an entirely different animal than the decaying monster it is today.