Legal Commentary

Are We Overreacting To the RFK Statement?

By Big Tent Democrat

It turns out that Hillary Clinton said something similar regarding RFK and the 1968 race in a Time Magazine interview in March 2008, but there was not an uproar then. Here is what she said in March:

TIME: Can you envision a point at which--if the race stays this close--Democratic Party elders would step in and say, "This is now hurting the party and whoever will be the nominee in the fall"?

CLINTON: No, I really can't. I think people have short memories. Primary contests used to last a lot longer. We all remember the great tragedy of Bobby Kennedy being assassinated in June in L.A. My husband didn't wrap up the nomination in 1992 until June. Having a primary contest go through June is nothing particularly unusual.

More . . .

Apparently, at the time, I did not think it was the most grievous mistake ever. And apparently no one else did either. Why now? Since I do feel it was bad, I am asking myself that question and my quick answer is this - it seemed clearer in that formulation that she was talking about the race being contested in June 1968. But that seems a weak argument to me. Anyone want to help me out here? What is different now than then?

By Big Tent Democrat. speaking for me only

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Full post as published by TalkLeft on May 23, 2008 (boomark / email).