I think it should have been recalled by the press in this campaign that in addition to his own political career in the U.S. Senate and as a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1968, Robert F. Kennedy was also President John F. Kennedy’s closest political associate during the JFK administration as he had been in the 1960 campaign.

We have heard a lot of appeals to recall the inspirational character of the Kennedy administration, which is both understandable and laudable, but have we forgotten just what an integral role RFK played in the day-to-day activities of the Kennedy White House as U.S. attorney general?

Moreover, during the sensitive yet urgent negotiations and discussions between the Kennedy administration and governors and U.S.senators from Southern states toward the purpose of achieving state-level compliance with recent federal statutes and judicial rulings on the entire range of public desegregation issues faced by the country in the early 1960s, it was Atty. Gen. Robert Kennedy who often was the most important personal communications link between the administration and the affected state governments.

The record shows that a great number of Southern political leaders found Atty. Gen. Kennedy determined but fair-minded in spelling out to Southern state governments just what their responsibilites were in complying with changing federal law and recent applicable federal court rulings.

Not only in the 2008 presidential campaing but in a number of previous campaigns in which the example of JFK’s leadership became a centerpiece of political discussion, such as in 1968, 1988 and 2000, while the important themes, accomplishments and vision of the Kennedy administration were quite appropriately recalled to the public mind, the unglamous but indispensable day-to-day work of coordinating executive initiatives at the federal level with executive and legislative responses at the state level may have been overlooked. Atty. Gen. Kennedy was closely involved with all these efforts at the presidential level in his brother’s administration.

Thus some previous Democratic presidential candidates, who may not have ultimately won nomination or general election campaigns, nonetheless helped clarify many of these administrative needs and priorities for the voters in successive periods of latter-20th Century history–for example, the campaigns of Sens. Mo Udall and Henry Jackson in 1976, former Vice President Walter Mondale in 1984, Sen. Gary Hart in 1988 and Gov. Jerry Brown and Sen. Paul Tsongas in 1992.

So regardless of when the Democratic presidential nominee in this year’s campaign is finally determined, it should be remembered that in their own different oratorical styles and philosphical approaches, both Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. Hillary Clinton have succeeded in remarkable ways in reminding us of the work that still remains for the Nation and calling us to the task, not only from the historical experience of the past four decades but also looking ahead to the next quarter of a century.

In yet another year when the example of John F. Kennedy has been given such prominent mention by candidates and their respective supporters, let us remember just what it took to bring about the step-by-step gains in national equality of opportunity and legal justice.

David Proctor McKnight
Durham

1990 Democratic nominee, U.S. House of Representatives, 9th District of North Carolina