General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: 1968 (Your Help, Please!) [View all]Still Sensible
(2,870 posts)A full supporter, along with my mother, of RFK.
I think the big things that I remember from that year were:
1) LBJ dropping out of the race early, just after the New Hampshire primary I believe,
2) Dr. King's assassination in Memphis and the ensuing violence in many cities,
3) Bobby Kennedy's assassination... I was at the Hemisfair in San Antonio and up late watching the California primary returns and watched RFK's victory speech at The Ambassador. It was surreal waiting as he lingered in the hospital. And then watching the New York to D.C. funeral train coverage. It would have been a helluva convention and it would not have been a first ballot win for anyone, probably. Many politicos after-the-fact said they thought HHH would have won the nomination anyway, but I really doubt that. I think without a first ballot win, Humphrey would have been the one losing votes on subsequent ballots. RFK would have been the beneficiary and eventually would have won the nod IMO. Nixon would not have beaten RFK in the general, heck, he barely beat Humphrey
4) The bullshit at the Chicago convention,
5) The astronauts circling the moon around Christmas time.