General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: A question about RFK [View all]coalition_unwilling
(14,180 posts)the hard-fought California primary gave RFK crucial momentum and would, I believe, have led to a 'bandwagon effect' whereby uncommitted delegates flocked to the RFK standard, leaving McCarthy and HHH in the dust.
We'll never know for sure and therein lies the rub.
As to RFK's reputation for ruthlessness, I think the arc of the 60s had pretty much thoroughly transformed him. I remmeber reading an anecdote of his New York Senatorial Campaign when RFK and some aides were touring one of the really nasty housing projects (Bedford Stuyvesant, maybe?). RFK saw a really dilapidated building and wanted to go in and meet voters but his aides were highly resistant. RFK over-ruled them and went into the building anyway.
That little anecdote captured my heart because it seemed to encapsulate within it the seeds of a truly evolving human being. Call me a sucker if you must. I plead mea culpa.