Here's a great clip of RFK on the 60's "The Smothers Brothers Show".

[pacalo]

(For those who aren't old enough to know or remember, this program was as well regarded in its time as today's "Daily Show" is.)

I'd never seen this clip before & I was struck by Robert Kennedy's candid side -- charming, witty, & quick-thinking. Really classy & smooth.

Enjoy (& appreciate how special Robert Kennedy was):

[MrMickeysMom]

1. I got up from a sleepless state to laugh at this....

Yes, I know how precious he was, and also the Smother's Brothers Show.

They both should have lived on, but were killed by the censor.

[pacalo]

5. Everyone looked forward to seeing it on Sunday nights.

Another popular tv show that suspiciously got taken off the air was "Lou Grant". Reagan was in the White House at the time of the cancellation & Ed Asner, who played the Lou Grant character, was an outspoken activist against Reagan's policies.

I remember the cancellation well because it was one of my favorite tv shows at the time & I was so disappointed.

Like his character, Asner could also be outspoken. His first brush with politics occurred when he became a labor rights activist during the 1980 strike by the Screen Actor's Guild (SAG), which delayed the 1980-81 TV season. Asner's work on behalf of the actors helped make him a viable candidate for the SAG presidency, which he received in 1981. Asner's political agenda widened, and, in the face of a growing right-wing national sentiment highlighted by the 1980 election of Ronald Regan, Asner became increasingly vocal against U.S. public policy, including that affecting U.S. involvement in Latin America.

http://www.museum.tv/eotvsection.php?entrycode=asnered

It's interesting that both Reagan & Asner served as SAG presidents -- Reagan during the McCarthy era & Asner in 1981 while protesting the Reagan administration.

[pa28]

2. We lost out.

He might not have possessed the charisma of his brother but he really seemed to be stronger and more principled.

BTW I think the comparison to the Daily Show is right on. Somebody on DU recently posted a "campaign video" from Pat Paulson's indy run for president

Stephen Colbert would be jealous of this stuff.

[pacalo]

3. Pat Paulson was indeed the Stephen Colbert of his time.

Thanks for the clip; got another for you:

[Ken Burch]

4. I wonder if Paulson would still have run had Bobby lived?

The fall campaign WITH Bobby alive(even if he hadn't been nominated) would not have had the bleak, hopeless "why does this even matter anymore?" quality that it had when the choice became Nixon V. Humphrey(at least in the first month of the campaign before Humphrey finally separated himself a little from LBJ's Vietnam policies).

At the very least, Humphrey would likely have been running as a full-out dove as soon as he was nominated, possibly with Bobby as his running-mate.

[pacalo]

6. That's a good point.

Kennedy was so optimistic & a can-do type of candidate who was more interested in making the country better for all, which, in retrospect, wasn't a good thing for the powers-that-be who wanted the Viet Nam war to continue.

On the other hand, Humphrey once joked to Paulsen that he cost Humphrey the election.

[Ken Burch]

8. Actually, that might be true.

Paulson's joke candidacy is said to have won about 500,000 votes in '68. Humphrey lost to Nixon in the popular vote by about 500,000 votes.

Depending on where those votes were located, there's a real possibility that Paulson might have cost Humphrey Oregon and California(both of which Nixon just barely carried).

[lovemydog]

7. thanks for sharing this

& the other clips too. My parents loved Paulson & I can see why.

[cyberswede]

9. K&R!

The Smothers Brothers was a great show!
Pat Paulsen! I was only a baby, but my dad and older siblings thought he was great. And as timely today as it was then.

There's also a website: http://www.paulsen.com/pat/