Would Bobby Kennedy gotten the nomination at the 68 convention...

[maveric]

had he not been killed? Eugene McCarthy was building steam but was a one trick pony IMHO. Wallace was a dem but wouldnt have gotten the nod for obvious reasons. And I've read the Humphrey was allready promised the nom by dealings from LBJ, who was a master at those things.
Had he not gotten the nom would he have gone 3rd party?
At the time everyone who I knew had RFK allready nominated and elected shortly before his death. But this was in Boston.
So what do you think? Was Bobby a "shoo-in" for the nom or would HHH been awarded it?

[StellaBlue]

1. Bobby

But then I was about ten years pre-utero at the time, so....

[onehandle]

2. He would have gotten the nomination.

And win or lose, the world would be a better place with him in it.

[gademocrat7]

3. In Houston ,Senator Kennedy was our candidate.

He would have made a great president. Having eight children in the White House would have been a first.

[tsuki]

4. HHH

Bobby was too radical, too identified with civil rights. He shook 'em up tho.

[SharonRB]

5. Bobby, for sure.

Oh, how different the world would be.

[Va Lefty]

6. I've always wondered about that too

Considering what the "Democratic establishment" did in the streets of Chicago, I'd say no way RFK gets nomination. LBJ still called the shots and he hated RFK. This was before the McGovern reforms that gave more weight to primary results and less to party bosses.

[maveric]

8. Thats how I've felt of late.

LBJ was genius in "fixing things" and was a fierce bully doing so. Even though he was on the way out the man still held much power and influence. And he loathed the Kennedy's. The nom was promised to Hubert Humphrey and he would have gotten it anyway. Had Bobby lived and after Nixon's dark reign/Watergate, Bobby would have been the man in 1972.

[WI_DEM]

7. NO

unlike today there were relatively few primaries in '68 and the party bosses controlled most of the delegates and were tied to President Johnson. At the time of RFK's assassination Vice President Humphrey controlled many more delegates. When Johnson withdrew he (partially) co-opted the war issue. The party bosses, unions and southern delegates were behind Humphrey and I believe he would have been nominated anyway.

[warrens]

9. No question about it

He was a shoo-in. Many dems did not like Humphrey, mainly for his support for the war and ties to Johnson, who was massively unpopular with Dems. RFK would have had almost no opposition.

[WI_DEM]

13. but Humphrey was leading in delegates from the party conventions

which ruled in the late 60's (unlike the primaries of today)and the president had a firm hold on many of those delegates chosen by the party and there is no way LBJ would have allowed RFK to be nominated. Also Johnson was not "massively unpopular" with Democrats. Yes with many young, peace Democrats but in June of 1968 Johnson's overall approval rating (according to Gallup) was 45% and among Democrats his approval rating was over 60%. Because of his hold on the party machinery many historians also believe LBJ would have been easily nominated by the Democrats in 1968 in 1968 (such as the way Taft was nominated over TR in 1912 by the GOP). It should be recalled as well that LBJ won the NH primary in 1968 as a write in candidate but the fact that Gene McCarthy, who was on the ballot, got 42% became the big story.

[Upfront]

10. Yes!

With out a doubt. He would have been president. The people were behind him and Johnson would have been unable to stop it. He would have been a great President.

[Greeby]

11. I wasn't around at the time obviously

But I figured that him being a shoo-in for the nomination and most likely the Presidency. Was the reason he was killed by whoever considered another President Kennedy to be too great a threat. (I'll leave that one open)

[sinkingfeeling]

12. I believe Bobby would have gotten the nomination.

[RagAss]

14. No..the nomination was a party 'fix" for HHH ...however, I have

always believed that Bobby would have been a Independent candidate in 68 and thrown the election format into what it should be today....more representative of the population...there may very well have been four candidates that year...Nixon,Humphrey, Wallace and RFK.....with the Catholic and Liberal votes in his camp, Bobby may have come very close if not taken the WH that year....

[WI_DEM]

17. I honestly don't believe RFK would have been an independent

in '68. He would have lined up behind HHH but perhaps have forced HHH to break with Johnson on the war sooner than he did. Kennedy wanted to be president but he was a party pol and would not have been a spoiler responsible for Nixon.

[RagAss]

18. You're correct...He was a part pol...but IMO ...his hate for LBJ

would have trumped that....at least in 68....

[endarkenment]

15. Having just won California, Kennedy was a formidable threat.

McCarthy was not building steam, his steam was pretty much spent. Kennedy took all of McCarthy's support with him. RFK was hugely charismatic and popular - neither Humphrey nor McCarthy could make that claim. Kennedy galvanized the entire progressive wing of the party and claimed the full support of the antiwar and civilrights movements. In retrospect it was rather obvious that he had to die.

That was the darkest year of my young life. I had gone to Wisconsin to work on the McCarthy campaign (he lost but embarassed LBJ out of running.) Then King was shot, then Kennedy was shot, then I went to Chicago and we all almost got shot. After that everything pretty much fell apart. I haven't trusted anything that our government says or does since then.

To understand Sirhan watch either version of the Manchurian Candidate.

[Crabby Appleton]

16. yes

yes he would have.

[AndyTiedye]

19. Bobby Would Have Gone All the Way

HHH was too closely associated with the war.

Even Nixon said he was going to end the war. (Said he had a "secret plan").

RFK would have really ended it, and done a lot of other good things as well.

If he had lived, he would have become President.