Wednesday, May 28, 2008
I'm appalled at the media's jumping on Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton for her supposed gaffe in referring to Robert F. Kennedy's assassination the night he claimed victory in the 1968 Democratic presidential primary in California [front page, May 24].
The point that Ms. Clinton was making to a South Dakota newspaper editorial board was that things can change suddenly in a presidential primary, as we have seen this year. Yet The Post's Libby Copeland, in just one example of the media's reaction, grumbled in an essay, "To raise the specter of a rival's assassination, even unintentionally, is to make a truly terrible thing real" ["Hillary Clinton Raises the Specter of the Unspeakable," Style, May 24].
Kennedy was obviously stunned when he lost the Oregon primary, despite a hard-fought effort. A week later, however, he was clearly elated by his stunning turnaround win in California's early-June contest.
JAMES C. FLANIGAN
Washington
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Former presidential candidate Mike Huckabee joked about someone aiming a gun at Sen. Barack Obama, and now Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has referred to the assassination of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy.
Why have the media, for the most part, given Mr. Huckabee and Ms. Clinton a pass on these horrific remarks? Why hasn't the Democratic National Committee shut Ms. Clinton down? Her excuse that she was just citing "historical examples" of campaigns continuing into June is ludicrous. She cited her husband's run in 1992 and could have used the campaigns of 1972, 1976 and 1984 as other examples. Instead, she cited Sen. Kennedy's assassination.
If Ms. Clinton's constituency of "hard-working Americans, white Americans" is not offended by these remarks, America should be a scary place to be if you are Mr. Obama.
MICHAEL E. SHELL
Silver Spring
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In mentioning the slaying of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy in relation to her staying in the Democratic presidential race ["Remark About RFK Keeps Clinton on the Defensive," news story, May 26], Ms. Clinton missed the broader historical message.
When Kennedy's life was tragically cut short in 1968, the nomination did not go to the runner-up in the primaries. That would have been Sen. Eugene McCarthy (D-Minn.). Instead, the Chicago convention nominated Vice President Hubert Humphrey, who hadn't entered a single primary.
The message is that even during the most extreme circumstances, major party nominations aren't awarded by default. They still have to be won.
CHRISTOPHER P. NICHOLSON
Sterling
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