Barack and Bobby: Compare and Contrast; and, Obama-Clinton as Lennon-McCartney circa 1970

It was moving to read Tom Hayden's reflections on Bobby Kennedy's candidacy of 1968, his own role in it, and the ways in which Obama's campaign has reconnected him with the spirit of those times. Yet I find it equally moving to consider the ways in which Obama and RFK are different, the ways in which they are mirror images rather than carbon copies.

40 years later a new comparison

It has been 40 years since the assassination of Robert Kennedy and still we ask: what could have been

Today the media attempts to draw comparisons between RFK and Barack Obama. The comparisons to me are obvious. Both believed in unification of the country. Both opposed similar wars and both were/are forces for civil liberties.

Ultimately both appeal to our hopes and dreams not our instincts or fears.

We have to look forward. We have to be compassionate towards others and we have to have a sense of responsibility.
Robert F. Kennedy, 1967