John Kerry and Bobby Kennedy's Unfinished Mission.. Arianna Huffington

[Tellurian]

There is no shortage of comparisons between our current military misadventures and Vietnam. But after watching "RFK," David Grubin's powerful new documentary on the life of Robert F. Kennedy set to air on PBS in October, I feel there is a more useful comparison – not of the two wars but of two eras and two leaders.

John Kerry has said that he would one day like to write a book entitled simply "1968." In fact, it was impossible to watch "RFK" and not be struck by the many historical parallels between 1968 and today, by how much the legacy of Bobby Kennedy animates John Kerry's run for the White House – and how Kerry is in a unique position to complete Kennedy's unfinished mission of ending a misguided war, returning real compassion to our domestic agenda, and bringing us together as a nation.

"As a survivor of RFK's 1968 campaign," historian Arthur Schlesinger told me, "I see John Kerry in the JFK/RFK tradition – a brave, intelligent, and thoughtful man. I find many similarities between that campaign and this one, especially our entanglement in a hopeless war at the expense of urgent domestic woes."

In the film, former Senator and RFK confidant Harris Wofford says that Kennedy told him that he was running for president "to save the soul of the country."

...If you have the time read in entirety...made me weep for things that could have been..

http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=18749

[Tellurian]

1. Ooops forgot to mention...movie coming out in Oct on PBS..nt

[Tellurian]

2. trip...

[blm]

3. Those who have really followed Kerry over the decades have been waiting

a long time to cast their votes to put him in the White House.

Now, more than ever, we are certain that he is the man to bring hope to not just the US, but to most of the world.

Kerry is carrying the spirit of Bobby Kennedy with him into the White House. Hopefully, Bobby Kennedy Jr. will be put into a position at the EPA to bring the environment of the US and the globe into the 21st century reality.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

8. my mom is one of them

she's hoped for this since '73.

[joeybee12]

4. Arianna's way off base on this one...

...there are few comparisons between the two. I don't mean that as a slam against Kerry, but trying to draw comparisons boggles the mind.

[H2O Man]

6. The idea isn't to compare

Kennedy and Kerry. That misses the point. It's not the personality of the men that is being compared. It's the situation. Both the late 1960s and 2004 have a number of issues in common. Thus said, both allow for someone to play a significant role .... and both Kennedy and Kerry, for reasons far deeper than a silly comparision of the two could reveal, lived lives that placed them in a position to take up that responsibility. It can be hard to remain clear and focused in this culture, because far too much attention is placed on personality and other factors that have resulted in more people watching shit like American Idol than the democratic debates. It's urgent that we refocus the country on what is important. Comparing the roles that Kennedy and Kerry have played is a proper exercise in this effort.

[Trailrider1951]

5. Oh God, 1968

The memory of that terrible year haunts me to this very day. My worst nightmare is that the Bushists are planning a replay....:scared:

[bleedingheart]

7. she is right about the need for bold narrative...

FDR, JFK and RFK weren't afraid to speak up and talk about their vision for a better nation and the people voted.

[Tellurian]

9. "Saving the Soul of the Country" is a good campaign meme...

commemorating Bobby's memory..

and I believe saying and reading those words will definitely have a strong backlash against the current torture pictures depicted as being the Christian Coalition idea of what God wants.