This author concludes that, while Sen. Obama is not RFK, the similarities between these two inspiring leaders are striking. Obama is his own man, and he will chart his own course. But it's exciting that many Baby Boomer Democrats are joining our grassroots campaign because Obama reminds them of RFK and gives them hope again.
From Martin Kettle of the Gaurdian:
On the surface, Obama's embryonic campaign has some qualities that Kennedy's had. He too has hesitated publicly before subjecting himself to the fray. He too attracts vast audiences, full of hope, because he promises the future not the past. He has an ease with the language that sets him apart. And, merely by joining the race, he is rewriting the odds.
The race echoes 1968 too. Then, as now, a failed war dominated an anguished national campaign. Then, as now, the war compelled candidates, not least Kennedy, to get off the fence and adapt to anti-war concerns.
But Iraq is not Vietnam and 2008 is not 1968. And Barack Obama is not Robert Kennedy either. Nevertheless now, as 40 years ago, the Democrats must navigate the politics of war with both audacity and care. Some New Democrats whose obsession with the centre made Bill Clinton electable, still talk as though the war is almost an irrelevance. Denial like that is catastrophic.
