Forty years after Bobby Kennedy soothed an Indiana crowd the evening of Martin Luther King Jr.’s death, Indiana voters once again are in the democratic primary limelight. With 160,000 new registrations, Hoosiers are taking seriously their role in deciding the nomination fight.
In 1968, Governor Brannigan was the stand in for Hubert Humphrey. Clinton is the Brannigan/Humphrey hawk, of this race. Obama is the Bobby Kennedy–dove.
But my have things changed. Through the looking glass even. In 08, Clinton has made a caricature of the Humphrey, a reluctant hawk, by cheerfully threatening to obliterate Iran, and by having her supporters attest to her cojones and obama’s by comparison (the latest cojone comment by james carville). nobody dared comment on Bobby Kennedy’s cojones, or if they did, it didn’t rate press attention.
Also, go back to the kennedy speech the night of King’s death. He talked about the racial divide in America in healing terms. Once again, Obama’s recent speeches and his candidacy itself speaks to the country in the same healing tones. Regretfully, his opponents seeks to exacerbate old wounds and exploit fear.
Would be great to see Indiana once again stamping its no-nonsense anti-war (and anti cojone counting), racial healing imprimatur upon the national consciousness.
