This morning Jerry Springer made me cry

when he was reminiscing RFK's life and death.

Called him the last "authentic" politician - he followed his own instincts, free from pollsters, consultants, etc.

He used as an example the night MLK was murdered.

RFK had arrived in Indianapolis to give a speech to a group of 100 African Americans.

At that time, no one knew of MLK's assassination. This was before the age of 24 hour cable news.

RFK's advisors pleaded with him to cancel the speech, as they were without police protection and were afraid of riots.

Robert waived them off and made the announcement to the stunned crowd. He actually calmed the crowd. MLK was murdered by a white man, and RFK reminded the crowd about losing his brother just five years earlier at the hands of a white man.

He truly was authentic.

How many of our present day politicians need to consult someone over something as mundane as which toilet paper to use?

and it made me cry, too!

I can clearly remember waking up to the news that RFK had been assassinated. I was in high school at the time. Such a tremendous loss, in a string of tremendous losses. Will we ever see that kind of leadership again in this country?!

I think a lot of youthful optimism was assassinated that day as well.

incident. Amazing.

when RFK was campaigning for president, he went to this medical school and was heckled by the "compassionate conservatives" in training.

He was talking (even then) about universal health care.

The audience was made up of privileged white males who were ridiculing him and one demanded to know who would pay for it.

RFK's response?

"YOU"

"Especially since you are all sitting here safe while your brothers are dying in Viet Nam. It's the least sacrifice you can make".

That gave me goosebumps.

What modern day politician would respond to that?

Hell, the average present day Democrat falls apart trying to find an answer to being called "liberal".

Brilliant, gutsy, unapologetic. It does make one want to cry for what we have lost, not only with RFK specifically, but with that kind of leadership.

"Hell, the average present day Democrat falls apart trying to find an answer to being called "liberal"."

I live in a red state and have silenced cons outright when they say I must be one of those "liberals" with a simple response: "Yes, and you can thank me now for labor laws, occupational safety, your wife's right to vote, your kids' guarantee of minimum wage when they start work and the ability of the sports heroes you worship to use the same bathroom and drink from the same fountain you do."

If some dolt of the street like myself can handle it, why can't people who are trained arguers and spinners shoot back? Why do they duck away? It pisses me off.

I've seen Kerry duck and dodge it; Edwards too.

since when is "liberal" a dirty word?

the GOP is great with labels.

...my dad waking me up to tell me that RFK had been shot, but 'he wasn't dead, he was in the hospital and was breathing on his own' (I was old enough to understand about 'breathing machines') and to me this meant that he would recover.
I cried and cried and cried when Dad told me he had died later that night.
I was only about nine then, but Dad looked so sad and defeated I knew it was something really bad, much more than just that President Kennedy's brother had gotten killed too.

could be completely helpless. They all looked like their arms didn't work.

:cry:

He shed no tears for Bobbie.