So As I Was Saying . . .: My Somewhat Eventful Life by Frank Mankiewicz & Joel L. Swerdlow

Author:Frank Mankiewicz & Joel L. Swerdlow [Mankiewicz, Frank]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781466880979
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Published: 2016-02-16T08:00:00+00:00

12

In Which I Am Certified by Robert F. Kennedy, I Assure Him That Debating Ronald Reagan Will Be “Easy,” We Visit the JFK Gravesite in Arlington, I Discuss My Favorite RFK Speech, and RFK Runs for President, Making Remarks That Still Haunt, Inspire, and Challenge Us

Some staff had, at the last minute, suggested to Robert Kennedy on primary election night in California that he spare himself the tiring prospect of working his way through the crowded ballroom and exit via the kitchen.

There is, of course, speculation that even if Robert Kennedy had not decided to exit the Ambassador Hotel’s ballroom through the kitchen that night—if he’d exited, as planned, through the crowd and out through the ballroom—then Sirhan Sirhan or someone else still would have assassinated him, especially given the emotions of the times and the absence of effective security.

I don’t think Sirhan, Fate, or the Lady in the marketplace would have found him somewhere else. What happended was a fluke. Robert F. Kennedy would have lived, and he might have been elected president.

It’s difficult to know what would be different. A lot of powerful people and powerful interests were aroused against the things in which he believed. He was worried that people, especially those who were his strongest supporters, might be disappointed in him. The political and economic realities of the country, the institutional momentum to do certain things, such as continue the war in Vietnam and fracture much of the country into what the Kerner Commission called “two nations, separate and unequal,” were very strong. We know that now looking back; he certainly sensed it then. (The Kerner Commission, named after its chairman, Governor Otto Kerner of Illinois, had been appointed by President Johnson during the summer of 1967 to investigate the causes of riots in Detroit, Newark, New Jersey, and other American cities.)

* * *

Friends who teach tell me young people today often lean forward when they hear the words “Robert Kennedy.” The name still grabs their imagination and triggers their questions.

From a practical perspective, Robert Kennedy didn’t accomplish much as a senator. But I suspect his impact comes from his hold on people’s imaginations. He may even rival in historical staying power his brother John. The truth is, except for a few—too few—years as attorney general, Robert Kennedy never exercised power. In the Senate, he had no power. He was, one might say, all potential.

I had thought I would be with him the rest of my life; it felt right, as though everything that had preceded had been preparation for what we would do. He and I, furthermore, were the “old men” in an office filled with mostly young people. Indeed, R. W. Apple, the chief political correspondent for The New York Times, wrote when I joined RFK’s staff, “Senator Kennedy has found a playmate his own age.” And I recognize until now I’ve never written anything about him. I’ve told stories, and I’ve given interviews to countless journalists, academics, and others writing about him. But

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