"The American Experience" RFK

Finally got to watch this last night. Fascinating show, very objective about how Kennedy changed over the years to finally become the man he was in 1968. I'd recommend it to anyone, but especialy to those born after he died he might not know the man, and how he came to be what he was.

I can still remember learning of his assasination the next morning, and then that awful day watching the TV showing the train carrying his body back to Washington. One of the saddest days in my young life. The photos they show of the crowds on the side of the tracks are unbelieveable, a real cross-section of America, and they are in real pain, as if a family member died.

There has never been a politician since who appealed to, and inspired, so many different groups, young and old, black, white and latino, rich and poor. I believe he would have been elected president in 1968 and the course of this country might have changed significantly. Certainly we would have been out of Vietnam by late 1969 or early 1970.

June 6, 1944, D-Day, forever changed the course of Western Civilization.
June 6, 1968, the day RFK died, forever changed the course of America.

Strange coincidence.

 

What channel is this show on? History Channel? Sounds like a must-see.

 

The American Experience is on public broadcasting. It is one of the best shows on TV.

 

I watched it a couple weeks ago. Truly, truly good stuff.

 

I remember getting to school the day after he was shot and hearing about it and wondering if the U.S. wasn't going to descend to anarchy. I mean, in the 60s, there were riots and assassinations, it seemed, like every month. People who are nostalgic for those days are simply high.

 

I was 8 when it happened. Coming as it did on the heels of the King assassination and with the JFK killing still in my memory, I remember asking my parents why anyone would run for president, since they all seemed to get shot.

 

I found his wiretapping of Martin Luther King to be especially inspiring.

 

Watch the show. It's addressed substantially, along with RFK's work with Joe McCarthy and his taking partial responsibility for the U.S.'s involvement in Vietnam under his brother, to whom he was the top advisor.

As I said, it's very balanced, and not always flattering to RFK. It illustrates how his brother's death was the crucible of his life, and how he changed himself and his life after 11'22/63.

 

A friend of mine once said that AE was pop history... I told him I didnt care, I enjoyed it.
As good as RFK is, it;s not in my top five shows....even if you discount Baseball, Lewis and Clark, The Civil War, and The West

 

I recommend the biography by Evan Thomas. It's interesting watching him grow from the shy kid who just wanted to help his brother become president to the guy out front learning about civil rights. In the beginning he was more of a stubborn hardliner than JFK was -- the wiretapping, the way he acted toward MLK, the Bay of Pigs fiasco -- but he grew a lot after his brother's devastating death.

When I finally got to the shooting I was seriously bummed. Had to slam the book shut. I'm still not convinced he would've been nominated, but, of course, we'll never know.

I also saw the star-studded "Bobby" movie recently. It had its (few) moments, but why can't we have a real biopic of the man?

 

Buy the DVD. The extras are worth the price. I also recommend American Experience's "Las Vegas: An Unconventional History." Brilliant ...