Guest Reader Comment: Obama Hillary Parallels 1968 Election?

You should have said that the Democratic primary resembles 1968. The general election in 1968 was a close election with a third party candidates. The 2008 general election will probably be a rout that more resembles 996 with an articulate polished media savvy candidates against a tired old man who is too lazy to read his own briefing books.

Um, how old was Matt in 1968? Bobby Kennedy was the Senator from New York, where he'd served since nine months aftyer JFK - his brother, under whom he served in the White House - was murdered.

Eugene McCarthy was the idealist candidate in '68, and Kennedy took him out in a Clintonesque well-calculated political assault.

Outsider? Idealist? Bobby was known as JFK's hatchet-man. Would he have been a good president? Quite possibly. But this comparison is silly.

A.L.

I happened to be on Gene McCarthy's national staff for six months before the Chicago Convention and must agree with A.L., in that RFK was like Hillary, a changeling who went from Nafta supporter to opponent without batting an eyelash. RFK started his career as JOE McCarthy's staff hitman, skillfully covered up by liberal fabulists!

The confection now arranged by "historians" is so far from the reality that I wince every time I see "Bobby" portrayed as a liberal hero. GENE McCarthy was the real hero in '68 and RFK rushed in as soon as LBJ threw in the towel. RFK was always a media concoction----I met him twice and the last time he asked me to work for him in LA a week before he died. What a shame, but RFK was simply another Hillary, a busted flush.

I'm still clinging to hopes that idealism can be transformative. Each day brings on more doubts, however. After all, politics isn't omething that just hppens in Washington, DC
We are all practising politics right here, posting and commenting on blogs
So., how are we doing? Are we attempting to be more unified? Are we more respectful of those who don't agree with us? Are we willing to listen and try to understand anyone who isn't a carbon copy of ourselves in views and opinions , down to the last particular? Or do we continue to villify anyone we dislike?

Politicians are people, just like us. They can inspire, but they can't transform the nation all by themselves. I would say, then, that if we want possibilites to become realities, we have to be part of the transformation.

How much hope is there to actually see it happen?
I don't know. I do know that ithe fulfillment of hope can't be like a giftt that a single leader can just hand to us. We have to do our part to realize the dream.
So, we'll see what what we'll see.

Lost in the 1968 primary and convention is that the two warring parties hardly spoke to each other for the next 10 to 15 years. It was a very divisive time for the democrats who did not win back the White House until 1976 by another Obama like Politician who then guaranteed that the Democrats would not return to power for another 12 years.

Hence JFK, LBJ and the Vietnam war leading up to 1968 led to one democratic president in the next 24 years.

I think the Republicans are staring at pretty much the same scenario. Why do we not learn from history?>

Look, SD is right in that the country's growing diversity is helping the Left, but Who's dynamic is reverse. W's horror-filled two terms will likely lead to a Democratic 8 years, and if good, 12-20 years. In fact- if all the black voters had been counted in Fla. in 2000, we'd be looking at a 16 year Democratic hegemony right now.