| January 20 |  |
Editor says, what if Raefer Johnson had disarmed Sirhan Sirhan before he could fire the gun? Please note that the opinions expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of the author(s).
Unknown Speaker: "President Kennedy has survived an assassination attempt. I am right here Raefer Johnson has a hold of a man who apparently tried to fire a shot".
Andrew West: "He has still has the gun, the gun is pointed at me at this moment. I hope they can get the gun out of his hand. Be very careful! Get the gun, get the gun, get the gun. Look, stay away from the gun. Stay away from the gun. His hand is frozen. Get his thumb, Get his thumb, Get his thumb. Get the whole of his thumb and break it if you have to, get his fast. Get away from the barrel, get away from the barrel, man! That's it Raefer, get it! Get the gun Raefer".
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In 1969, on this day a rousing rendition of "If I Can Dream" sung by Elvis Presley closed out the first inauguration of Robert F. Kennedy as the 37th President of the United States.
Click 
to listen to the 1968 Comeback Special.
A Sky More Blue Peace and understanding comes to AmericaIt was an appropriately chosen song for two main reasons. Firstly, the expression of the widely held sentiment that American had become materially richer, but spiritually poorer during the sixties. And secondly, the hope that Americans could "become in our own hearts brothers and countrymen once again".
In a sense a flaming torch had been passed this time around because the noble causes of his elder brother's 1960 election had deteriorated into intractable moral dilemmas for the more complex world of the 1970s. And the prospects of say delivering true social justice for African-Americans or beating the Viet Cong were looking extremely bleak, despite the optimism of the campaign trail where deliriously excited blacks, Hispanics and white students had grasped at him so hard that his hands bled.
And yet there was good cause for hope that the haters might not win out. Not only had Kennedy narrowly survived an assassination attempt in the Ambassasor Hotel, Los Angeles. But also because alongside the new Secretary of State Eugene McCarthy he had managed to navigate the perils of the Chicago Convention. And sieze the nomination despite the very best of efforts of Lyndon Baines Johnson, the President who loathed him.
Entry posted by Todayinah Editor
© Tim Stanley, "The passing of a dynasty"Story Tags
Permalinks: Post, Day. Browse Thread: Politicians Source: Wikipedia Labels: Robert Kennedy, Rafer Johnson , Elvis Presley, Presidency, Premature Death. Editor says, in this article we explore a suggestion received with thanks from guest historian Amnah Khan. We also examine the ideas proposed in Tim Stanley's excellent article "The passing of a dynasty: the careers of the three Kennedy brothers defined the politics of America in the 1960s, a decade that began amid vigour and optimism and ended in scandal and cynicism. Yet still they fascinate" published in the November 2009 Edition of History Today Magazine.
~ I don't see him allying himself with Dirty Gene. He wasn't a hater.
~ A good expression from the heart, nicely put.
~ "Dirty Gene"? A "hater"? In which world--Earth-Three oput of DC Comics?
~ Sorry, Eric, i was there. The anti-war' movement was motivated by brutal hatred. Suffice it to say that what they did didn't make it into the history books. But i was there.
~ McCarthy had had a quite severe falling out with RFK that winter. Kennedy's people expected Eugene step aside once Bobby got in the race. In reverse McCarthy and his acolytes felt that Bobby had used them as stalking horses and then sand bagged them. In either event there was zero chance LBJ would have appointed McCarthy Sec of State and in 1968 it was LBJ's to give. Ditto the Chicago Convention. LBJ could have nominated either of his pet dogs at that convention. He was in TOTAL control.
~ @Eric: I've heard Gene McCarthy called a lot of things, but nobody's ever described him as a hater before.
~ LBJ had incredible Washington power, so RFK would've had to do some strange dealings to crack it.
~ How about LBJ's already weak ticker gives out on him a year or two earlier?
~ This might have been very bad. The Kennedys in general tended to feel, and act, like rules didn't apply to them, and RFK was, I am told, the most ruthless of them. What with the Camelot myth and the martyrdom at Dallas to work with, RFK could conceivably have done a lot of damage. OTOH, in this TL Chappaquiddick almost certainly doesn't happen and Teddy is, at best, a footnote.
© Today in Alternate History, 2013-. All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
