1968 SPECIAL (and it's not the Elvis Presley Comeback Special)
“I shall not seek, and I will not accept, the nomination of my party for another term as your President.”
I’d like to say the troubles of the Johnson Administration ended there but, unfortunately, it was only the beginning.
The Presidential campaign was already underway as it had been obvious Johnson was not going to be coronated this time. Between Vietnam and the racial tensions, not to mention the anti-war protests at home, which was already sparking a law and order backlash, it was to no surprise that Johnson would have competition in this election.
And it came in the form of anti-war candidate Senator Eugene McCarthy of Minnesota. His insistence to get out of Vietnam hit a note with younger voters and other liberal minded Democrats were attracted to his positions as well. And, with everything going on, Johnson had every reason to fear a rejection at the Democratic National Convention, especially after Johnson barely won the New Hampshire primary.
But Johnson was about to get an even bigger headache. For the good part of a year, there was a draft to get Robert Kennedy, now a Senator from New York, to run. Like McCarthy, he was a vehement opponent of the Vietnam War, but he also emphasized programs to help the poor and disadvantaged, even visiting an economically challenged town of white folks in Appalachia. He was also visiting African American towns in Mississippi as well and people could see the genuine emotion in his face as he visited these areas. After his brother had been assassinated, Kennedy took a reassessment of himself and out of it came a compassion that has rarely been seen in anyone in politics, quite frankly.
So, after the New Hampshire primary, and realizing he had the best chance to defeat Johnson, Bobby Kennedy announced his candidacy for President.
This was likely the last straw for Johnson. He had threatened to resign before but this time, with McCarthy and Kennedy running, and Cronkite now against him, Johnson decided he had enough and wasn’t going to run again. Instead, he would back his Vice President, Hubert Humphrey, as he at least shared some of his Vietnam policy, even actively campaigning for his election.
So, as April began, it looked like a three way contest for the 1968 nomination while the Republicans were trying to figure out who would hold their banner. At this point it appeared to be between Michigan Governor George Romney and, guess who, Tricky Dick Nixon, who was ready for his comeback tour. As of early April, Nixon already had the decided edge.
Now, you may ask why I’m doing 1968 as a separate chapter. It’s quite simple really; there were events in 1968 that frankly went beyond politics and, in some cases, even the political events went way beyond just some mention in a Presidential bio.
For just four days after Johnson’s announcement that he wouldn’t run, Martin Luther King was shot and killed in Memphis. King had been there to support a garbage workers’ strike and had made an inspiring speech at a church the night before pledging that “We will get to the mountaintop.” He also admitted that he likely wouldn’t get to the mountaintop with them. It proved to be tragically prophetic.
Because King was now dead, and the inner demons of anger rose. Cities like my own city of Baltimore erupted in violence. Forty-three people were killed, thousands were injured, even more thousands were arrested, and there was enormous property damage in what was seen as the worst violence since the Civil War. President Johnson sent in Federal troops to quell the violence as he needed to do but worried that local authorities would use unnecessary force. He was even reported to say, “What did you expect? I don’t know why we’re so surprised. When you put your foot on a man’s neck for three hundred years, and then you let him up, what’s he going to do? He’s going to knock your block off.” Legislatively, Johnson was able to respond by getting the Fair Housing Act passed, the last of his many great domestic accomplishments.
By May, the riots had passed, and it was back to Vietnam and the primaries. Kennedy was doing well at first, but hit a roadblock when McCarthy pulled an upset win in Oregon. It was assumed that if Kennedy had any chance of winning the nomination, at this point being reserved for Humphrey’s to lose, he would have to win the California Primary in June.
Meanwhile, there was now an attempt to finally try to get the US out of Vietnam as the Paris Peace talks were getting underway. Long story short, the talks would never get very far, and it is even rumored that Nixon may have meddled in an effort to improve his own election chances. In any event, the talks failed, and the war went on.
By June, Bobby Kennedy’s campaign was beginning to take flight. It had been an idealistic campaign to be sure as he was still remembered for his comforting speech in Indianapolis the night Martin Luther King was killed. Yes, he lost in the Oregon primary, but it looked like he had a fighting chance in both California and South Dakota. The primaries were on June 4 and Kennedy had won both. At the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, Kennedy gave what would be his last speech finishing with the words “It’s on to Chicago and let’s win there.”
As Kennedy as his entourage were exiting through the kitchen, shots rang out. After the melee was over and the assassin being held on the floor as a reporter screamed, “Get the gun,” Robert Kennedy lain on the floor with a bullet wound to the head, barely conscious as a busboy tried to comfort him. Kennedy was rushed to Central Receiving Hospital. By then he lost consciousness. He then was transferred to Good Samaritan Hospital where they operated on him, listing his condition as grave as to life.
On June 6 at 1:44 AM, Robert Kennedy was pronounced dead and the idealism that in some ways started with the Kennedys died that day as well.
The summer of 1968 contrasted with the positive vibes of the previous summer. We were still mired in the Vietnam War, and we just went through two major assassinations, what else could possibly go wrong?
Well, your friendly neighborhood mayor Richard Daley of Chicago was happy to give the answer. For, the Democratic National Convention to coronate Hubert Humphrey was underway and Daley wasn’t going to let a bunch of unkempt hippies ruin Chicago’s week in the spotlight.
Of course, those unkempt hippies were in Chicago to protest the war and planned peaceful, if vocal protests in Lincoln Park. Daley, of course, had a problem with that and a violent confrontation between the Yippies, as they called themselves, and the more than willing Chicago Police took place. This and a few other skirmishes set up what would become a night where the whole world was watching.
On the night of August 28, protestors marched in front of the Convention Center. The police responded the best way they knew how, with violence. Tear gas was thrown, protestors were beaten in front of a live audience. Word of the violence got into the convention as well as Senator Abe Ribicoff of Connecticut accused Mayor Daley of using Gestapo tactics. Even more telling, as a reporter was being roughed up by Daley’s security, Walter Cronkite called the security personnel a bunch of thugs. By the time Hubert Humphrey came on for his acceptance speech, he was reduced to making a desperate plea for harmony.
The rest of 1968 was relatively calm as Humphrey ran up against Nixon and his Law and Order campaign (more on that with the next post) and a third party bid by traditional segregationist, George Wallace, who would have some success in the South. Needless to say, with the damage done in Chicago, Humphrey was not to be the next President which is a shame for a couple of obvious reasons, but also because he was, even with his support of the war, a basically decent guy. In any event, after 1968, the United States would never be the same.
And not for the better.