Comments on: Bringing up Robert F. Kennedy

By: Mark

Mark — Sun, 25 May 2008 08:18:56 +0000

I saw nothing wrong with Sen. Clinton’s remarks.
One thing that has always struck me as being a bit odd is having people who are rich via inheritance (and RFK certainly was in that category) lecture that wealth accumulation shouldn’t be a priority in this country.
Beginning from a family of modest means myself, I have always wondered how those same people would feel about that subject if they didn’t already have wealth.
The Holy Bible tells us that it’s easier to get a camel through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to gain entry to heaven. I’ll take my chances…

By: philg

philg — Sat, 24 May 2008 17:54:57 +0000

N: As I noted in the JFK Library posting (linked to), RFK lived in a great time to be male and WASP (the Kennedys were Catholic, of course, but they lived and yachted like WASPs); he didn’t have to compete with a Condoleezza Rice. That said, I’m not sure that he was as out of touch with the common man as today’s elite. Hillary talks about people having trouble with their mortgage. Given her post-presidential wealth and the fact that she lived in the White House and, before that, the Arkansas governor’s mansion, she would not have had to apply for a mortgage since the 1970s. John McCain’s toughest decision on a lot of days is which of his wife’s private jets to take to for a visit to some other super rich guys.

Anyway, nothing would stop our current candidates from putting forth coherent ideas rather than sound bites… unless they don’t have any ideas.

By: N

Sat, 24 May 2008 10:01:42 +0000

If you read the RFK bio on Wikipedia you will see that his life is a life of privilege:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_F._Kennedy

Indeed the price of this privilege was a life of service to the nation as I believe was his father’s intention.

RFK was always on a upward trajectory from the beginning. That is not to say he did not accomplish anything on his own but one has to measure a persons accomplishment from where they began their life.

For example:

1) military – mostly training at Harvard, spent 4 months on the shakedown cruise in the Caribbean on the ship named for his father
2) Did not strongly oppose the Vietnam war until 1967
3) appointed to AG by his brother.

Many people had the moral strength to have the same opinions but few had the background that amplified their influence.