Skip to main content

tv   American Dynasties The Kennedys  CNN  April 8, 2018 9:00pm-10:01pm PDT

9:00 pm
>> i run for the presidency to stand for hope instead of despair. >> when bobby goes on the campaign trail, he's a complete rock star. >> jackie would say, i just fear that what happened to jack will happen with bobby. president john f. kennedy has successfully steered america through perilous times. but in battling organized crime, taking a stand on civil rights, and averting nuclear war, the kennedy brothers have made many enemies. >> president kennedy was shot in dallas at 12:25. >> as catastrophic events devastate the family, jackie is
9:01 pm
determined to shape jfk's legacy. a reluctant new leader emerges. >> robert kennedy. >> to keep the kennedy dream alive. ♪ ♪
9:02 pm
♪ >> several thousand enthusiastic texans are on hand to give the president and mrs. kennedy a warm welcome. >> in november 1963, president kennedy arrives in dallas to campaign for reelection. >> he probably as he was coming down those steps felt pretty confident about his political prospects. >> his health is better. his marriage is better. he is a very confident leader. he is a person recognized as having enormous potential for his second term. >> jackie was very happy to be with her husband during that trip to dallas, and it was really the happiest time of their marriage. >> the president's car is now turning on to l street, and it will be only a matter of minutes before he arrives at the
9:03 pm
freedmo freedmont. >> bobby kennedy is at home with his family and close colleagues. >> attorney general kennedy is in his backyard having lunch with robert morgan thal. >> we were by the pool having clam chowder and two different sandwich. >> he is just getting out, changing into dry clothes. >> suddenly, the phone rang. >> and that is not just any phone. it is one of the hotlines to the white house. >> ethel picked the phone up and said very unhappily it's j. edgar hoover. >> and bobby's stomach starts to sink, because he knows that j.
9:04 pm
edgar hoover doesn't call him unless it's bad news. >> and he clapped his hand to his mouth and said jack has been shot in dallas. >> it appears as though the motorcade group, there are people running up the hill. the presidential car copping up now. we know it's the presidential car there is mrs. kennedy in the pink suit, the secret service man over the top of the car. >> bobby decides immediately he has to go to dallas to be with his brother. but then he gets another call. >> he came in and just said "jack is dead." nothing else. walked away. >> from dallas, texas, the flash apparently official. president kennedy died at 1:00 p.m. central standard time.
9:05 pm
2:00 eastern standard time some 38 minutes ago. >> jackie kennedy travels from the hospital to air force one to accompany her husband's body back to washington. lyndon johnson is waiting on the plane. >> jackie goes back to what had been her and jack's bedroom on air force one and splayed on the bed, feet up on it is this big texan, lyndon johnson. in that moment made apparent to her in a way that the kennedys would tend to resent johnson for forever that he had already taken over and that jackie was yesterday's first lady. >> eager to be sworn in, lbj calls attorney general bobby kennedy for the precise wording of the oath of office. >> he wants to seize the reins of power and show the world that he is in charge.
9:06 pm
to bobby, this is hasty to the point of obscene. >> and bobby kennedy, as the blood is still cooling in his brother's veins begins to recite those words that he had heard last on january 20, 1961. >> i john fitzgerald kennedy do solemnly swear -- >> that i will faithfully execute the office of president of the united states. >> bobby's voice breaks down and it's too much for him. >> here is a picture of the swearing in of the 36th president of the united states, lyndon baines johnson. >> president johnson wants jackie to stand next to him for his inauguration. she insists on wearing her bloodstained clothes. >> by putting jacqueline kennedy
9:07 pm
in that photo, lbj is showing the continuation of power, and that jfk's widow is standing there. but i think ultimately the image conveyed utter shock and grief. >> meanwhile, bobby goes in to some emotional nether world because he realizes that everybody else may be falling apart, but he's got to hold it together. he calls sister eunice and says start planning the funeral. he calls brother ted and says you will tell our parents what's just happened. >> and so it comes to ted to have the most onerous duty possible in that family, to tell the father that president kennedy is dead. >> ted and eunice didn't want him to hear this from anybody else. and they called rose who had heard about it immediately. and they told rose to unplug
9:08 pm
every television in the house. and they arrive and they told him. and he started to cry. >> joseph and rose have now lost three of their nine children. >> joe kennedy always focused his ambition on his children. and you have to wonder if at some deep level he felt that he himself was responsible in some way, that by thrusting his children out into the world, the world has consumed them. >> my mother, she said that a bad man had shot uncle jack. and we went home, and my father was under a cedar tree with the dogs. and we ran over and hugged him and we were crying. and he hugged us back. and he said he had a great life. >> in an instant, bobby kennedy
9:09 pm
has lost his brother, his best friend, and his whole sense of professional meaning in life. >> bobby's always been the little brother and a secondary role. now he's the head of the family. ♪ ♪ with t-mobile, get the fastest network ever, now on the fasters samsung ever. because fast should be fast. ♪ now at t-mobile, buy one samsung galaxy s9 and get one free. ♪ money managers are pretty much the same. all but while some push high commission investment products,
9:10 pm
fisher investments avoids them. some advisers have hidden and layered fees. fisher investments never does. and while some advisers are happy to earn commissions from you whether you do well or not, fisher investments fees are structured so we do better when you do better. maybe that's why most of our clients come from other money managers. fisher investments. clearly better money management. stay at la quinta. where we're changing with stylish make-overs. then at your next meeting, set your seat height to its maximum level. bravo, tall meeting man. start winning today. book now at lq.com
9:11 pm
start winning today. i had a very minor fender bender tonight! in an unreasonably narrow fast food drive thru lane. but what a powerful life lesson. and don't worry i have everything handled. i already spoke to our allstate agent, and i know that we have accident forgiveness. which is so smart on your guy's part. like fact that they'll just... forgive you... four weeks without the car. okay, yup. good night. with accident forgiveness your rates won't go up just because of an accident. switching to allstate is worth it. let's team up to get the lady of the house back on her feet. and help her feel more strength and energy in just two weeks yaaay! the complete balanced nutrition of (great tasting) ensure with 9 grams of protein and 26 vitamins and minerals. ensure. always be you. in birds eye protein blends. ok. they're delicious side dishes with
9:12 pm
the protein of beans, whole grains... ...and veggies! mmm, good. my work here is dooooone! bird's eye protein blends. so veggie good. taking over 7,000 maria's steps each day.o, and she does it in any shoes she wants, with lasting comfort. only dr. scholl's stylish step has insoles that are clinically proven to provide all-day comfort. dr. scholl's. born to move. less than three hours after president kennedy is killed, bobby travels to meet jackie on the plane, carrying his brother's body. bobby heads out to andrews air force base, and he finds a dark hangar, and he is sitting there
9:13 pm
in the back of a track where he thinks nobody is watching. and it is the one moment he has had of trying to take it all in, to try to understand what has happened. >> the plane lands at andrews. so as all the cameras are focused on the front, bobby maneuvers himself on to the plane through some back staircase. he walk-throughs the plane calling out for jackie. they embrace. and exit the plane together. >> behind the casket is mrs. jacqueline kennedy. to her right is her brother-in-law, the attorney general robert kennedy. >> they get in to the ambulance. jack alongside them in the box. and jackie begins to unburden herself of what bobby called the full horror of what had occurred in dallas. >> jackie thought in part she was to blame. she said i thought that first sound was the backfire of a motorcycle.
9:14 pm
if i had turned at the first sound, i could have pulled him into my lap and i would have saved him. >> she goes into stunning detail. and bobby would later say that i didn't think about whether i wanted to hear it or not. he just listened. because that was part of his role. >> he was the only one who felt the loss as deeply as she had, and he was the one that she knew despite his reputation as being the ruthless kennedy, he was the one with the biggest heart and the broadest shoulders for her to lean on. >> while comforting jackie, bobby struggles with his own guilt. >> there's no doubt in my mind that bobby kennedy felt atsome level that he was responsible. >> bobby is afraid that his various attempts to prosecute bad guys has in some horrible way blown back on his own family.
9:15 pm
>> you have castro. you had the ku klux klan. you have potentially the soviet union. you have the mafia. the list of suspects was immense. >> bobby kennedy's calling around to try to find out what happened. he has his spies everywhere, and he has a spy in chicago who has contacts with the mafia boss sam giancana to find out if giancana killed jfk. and the answer is no. >> bobby even wonders if america's own intelligence agency is to blame. >> he calls the head of the cia, john mccomb to see if the cia did it. and mccomb swears to him as a fellow catholic the cia is innocent. >> as bobby searches for the truth behind jack's assassination, jackie plans for her husband's state funeral.
9:16 pm
>> the body of the late president john f. kennedy now lies in repose in the east room of the white house. the cameras are being allowed in at mrs. kennedy's specific request. >> jacqueline kennedy wanted to make sure at the time and for all of history his death would have meaning, and wanted to show that her was a martyr. >> she wanted the white house to be exactly as it was after president lincoln's assassination. so it was draped in heavy black fabric. the chandeliers were draped. it was a feeling of intense mourning. >> jack's father joe, confined to a wheelchair, is at home in hyannis port. >> he demanded that they go for a ride because he was going to go to the funeral in washington. and they drove to the airport
9:17 pm
where the kennedy plane was kept. and when he saw that the plane was no longer there, he went back and he watched it on television. >> funeral proceedings were conducted in open spaces with jackie walking with bobby and ted. secret service agents tried to convince her to not do a lot of what she wanted to do. considering the fact that her husband was just killed by a sniper, she was taking a risk. but she took it for the country. she knew the kind of closure that america needed. >> jacqueline kennedy had such an eye for image and art. and she used every bit of that talent to plan the president's funeral. >> she thought of the military touch of the riderless horse with the boots turned backwards
9:18 pm
in the stirrup to indicate that the leader has fallen. >> all of america was there with her. in fact, i think much of the world was there with her. it just seemed that something good had disappeared in our lives. it was almost as if people had to watch the funeral to believe it. . >> there was this feeling of national mourning, of a dream deferred. >> what jfk offered the country was both a challenge and a sense of the possibilities of the a country that was on the move. >> for my whole generation, really, he was an inspirational and transformational figure. >> people model themselves after john f. kennedy, got into public
9:19 pm
service modelled after john f. kennedy, at home and around the world. >> the courage that it took for jackie, i just don't think people really understand it. her brother told me that she was on the verge of collapsing every single moment. >> john was only turning 3 on that very day. and jackie knew that when she finished with the state funeral, she would that night give a birthday party for john, who couldn't quite understand what had happened. >> a gentle reminder from his mother. and john-john celebrates his third birthday with a soldier's farewell to his father. >> "the kennedys" is brought to you by --
9:20 pm
oms triggered by over 200 different allergens. like those from buddy. because stuffed animals are clearly no substitute for real ones. feel the clarity and live claritin clear. for one week only, save up to $46 on select claritin products. check this sunday's newspaper. ♪ ♪ applebee's to go. order online and get $10 off $30. now that's eatin' good in the neighborhood. order online and get $10 off $30. hey, i'm curious about your social security alerts. oh! just sign up online and we'll alert you if we find your social security number
9:21 pm
on any one of thousands of risky sites. that sounds super helpful. how much is it? well, if you have a discover card, it's free. no way! yes way! we just think it's important for you to be in the know. all right! hey... ewww! everything ok? being in the know is very good. yeah, it is. ooo don't shake! don't shake! ahhh! know if your social security number is found on rky sites. free from discover. a hilton getaway means you get more because you get a break on breakfast get an extra day by the pool get to spend more time together get more from your spring break getaway with exclusive hilton offers. book yours, only at hilton.com but birds eye made it deliciousfrom zucchini.a. mmm... mashed potatoes...and rice! but made from cauliflower. looks like i need a fork! oh no. (giggles) birds eye veggie made. so veggie good.
9:22 pm
if you'd have told me three years ago... that we'd be downloading in seconds, what used to take... minutes. that guests would compliment our wifi. that we could video conference... and do it like that. (snaps) if you'd have told me that i could afford... a gig-speed. a gig-speed network. it's like 20 times faster than what most people have. i'd of said... i'd of said you're dreaming. dreaming! definitely dreaming. then again, dreaming is how i got this far.
9:23 pm
now more businesses in more places can afford to dream gig. comcast, building america's largest gig-speed network. one week after jack's death, jackie begins to shape her late husband's legacy. >> jackie invites theodore white, a prominent journalist to do a piece for "life" magazine. she tells him that those thousand days were camelot. >> she spins this tale about the arthurian legend about this place that was known as camelot that she believes was perfectly
9:24 pm
suited to representing the kennedy administration. the kennedys were human like the rest of us. but jackie wanted the family to be seen as epic and royal and heroic. that's what camelot did. >> two weeks later, the article is published. >> jackie oversaw every word of it. she thoroughly edited and camelot continues to be the defining word for the kennedy presidency. >> jackie is forced to leave behind a white house she had worked so hard to restore and make way for president johnson and his family. >> jackie lived in georgetown for a period of time after the assassination. but it was difficult for her. there were tour buses coming through. there was no privacy.
9:25 pm
>> bobby was there, acting as a surrogate dad to john jr. and caroline. he was there so that jackie could lean on him. >> bobby and jackie become incredibly close. >> and they spend late afternoons together talking about jfk and wondering about what kind of world would have let him die. >> with bobby and ted by her side, jackie addresses the nation and the world, giving thanks for hundreds of thousands of supportive messages. >> and the warmth of these tributes is something i shall never forget. whenever i can bear to, i read them. all his bright light gone from the world. all of you who have written to me know how much we all loved him and that he returned that love in full measure. >> jackie is being pulled deeper
9:26 pm
and deeper into her depression, and she is pulling bobby with her in some ways. >> bobby was attorney general. he had been the closest thing america had ever seen to a copresident. but he became an outsider from the moment his brother died and lyndon johnson, the guy he despised, took the oath of office. >> in the white house, bobby sees jack kennedy's rocking chair in the hallway. it's a reminder to him that power has passed. >> my father would take long walks alone with the dogs. and then, you know, he was clearly -- he was shattered. >> overcome by grief, bobby wonders if the price paid for power is too high. >> i just don't know what my future will be. i'm going to decide that some time in the future. but i haven't decided that yet. >> he kind of immersed himself
9:27 pm
in trying to rearrange his cosmology and try to figure out what to do with his life. >> i just don't know what i'd do. >> as bobby considers his future, his family is a source of support. >> his brother teddy is seven years younger than bobby. and the two kennedys had relatively little to do with each other growing up. it's only with the death of jack in 1963 the two brothers become extremely close. >> ted is establishing himself in the world of politics. in 1962, he was elected senator of massachusetts, filling jack's old seat. >> teddy is much more outgoing than bobby. he liked to schmooze, and he just loved people. and that's the perfect trait to be a successful legislator.
9:28 pm
>> teddy, though, has been a somewhat hapless little brother. now he is the center of action and knows what he is doing. >> as ted charts his own political source, trauma hits the family. >> misfortune strikes the kennedy family once again. senator edward m. kennedy was seriously injured when his private plane crashed in the woods near southampton, massachusetts. >> two die in the crash. ted kennedy is dragged from the wreckage with a broken back. >> in any other family, to have one of the primary members in an airplane crash that almost kills him and gives him permanent back problems would be at the top of the list of tragedies. but in the kennedys it's just another check off on the list. >> two months later, a traumatized bobby addresses the democratic national convention as it honors jack's memory.
9:29 pm
>> and now it is my privilege and honor to introduce the man who stood closer to him than anyone else, his brother, robert kennedy. [ cheering ] >> and the place just breaks into this heartfelt, cathartic applause. and he stands there, and this goes on for five minutes and ten minutes. and it overwhelms him. >> i was in hyannis port. i was by myself, and i watched that 17-minute ovation, which was very, very moving. because it's -- you know, it's for his brother, and it's sad. because it's a sense of loss.
9:30 pm
>>r. chairman, mr. chairman -- >> and you know, it's who are you? who are you? you're clapping for my brother. what am i supposed to do? it's very tough. people say watching paint dry is boring. but some of you know paint can bring a wall to life. because you are particular. particular helps you find the perfect color and nail the details. look, particular people make the best art
9:31 pm
and science and... things. so be proudly particular with paint like no other. benjamin moore. the standard for paint professionals. only at local paint and hardware stores. if you have moderate to severe plaque psoriasis,sionals. little things can be a big deal. that's why there's otezla. otezla is not an injection or a cream. it's a pill that treats psoriasis differently. with otezla, 75% clearer skin is achievable after just 4 months, ... with reduced redness, thickness, and scaliness of plaques. and the otezla prescribing information has no requirement for routine lab monitoring. don't use if you're allergic to otezla. otezla may cause severe diarrhea, nausea, or vomiting. tell your doctor if these occur. otezla is associated with an increased risk of depression. tell your doctor if you have a history of depression or suicidal thoughts, or if these feelings develop. some people taking otezla reported weight loss. your doctor should monitor your weight and may stop treatment. other side effects include
9:32 pm
upper respiratory tract infection and headache. tell your doctor about all the medicines you take and if you're pregnant or planning to be. ♪ otezla. show more of you.
9:33 pm
9:34 pm
after months of soul-searching, bobby kennedy has made a decision. >> bobby is looking for a platform to begin the process of restoring the kennedy family to its rightful place. >> mr. attorney general -- >> excuse me. >> at one level, he was a shy, humble guy who i think would have been perfectly happy to stay in the background. but in another level knew that he had to pick up the family standard and rise to the occasion. >> i've decided to make myself available of the nomination of the democratic state convention. >> he enters the race for the new york senate seat. >> a lot of people in the family were worried, but they all knew that this was always the way it was supposed to be. >> bankers hope that the glittering magic of the kennedy name will overcome some voters'
9:35 pm
resistance to a candidate who lives in virginia and votes in massachusetts. >> when bobby becomes the democratic nominee -- >> robert f. kennedy. >> he resigns as president johnson's attorney general. >> running for senate for new york, this is not easy. he was an outsider. he was from washington. he had no real connection to new york. and he is thought of as a very opportunistic young man. >> robbie kennedy was regarded as tough and mean, someone who could drop the hammer on opponents of jack. and he doesn't is the gifts that the good lord gave to jfk. >> attorney candidate kennedy returned here today. >> bobby kennedy is a poor candidate. his voice is reedy and weak. he speaks in a month tone. >> that's my first -- >> he is stumbling for his
9:36 pm
words. he is not buttoned up. he is not polished. >> that's my first speech as a candidate. >> he is a terrible candidate. >> he was shy. he didn't like small talk. he didn't do back slapping. >> he was running against a guy named kenneth keating. an older white-haired veteran so-called liberal republican. >> taking a page out of jack's campaign book, bobby brings in his mother rose. >> i know you have come to hear about bob and why i think he is eminently fitted to be a 96th senator. >> he put his mother on television, i remember. she was really good. she insisted on writing her own statement, by the way. she wouldn't take anything from anybody else. she was -- she was really a tough -- she was something of a battle axe.
9:37 pm
>> that's a very dangerous thing. i don't want you to move it all the way. >> we'll move it right away. >> rose was the mayor of boston's daughter. she was a natural political woman herself. she loved to campaign. >> god bless you. i always expected them to work. >> she was doing teas. she was shaking hands. >> a remarkable woman. >> she was working very hard for her son. >> mrs. kennedy, how do you feel about transferring your family to state of new york? >> i'm looking forward to it. >> ethel was around all the time, although there were eight kids to take care of. >> they were all shaking hands, wearing buttons, licking envelopes. it was fun. >> even jackie hits the campaign trail. >> mrs. kennedy, is this your first visit to the campaign headquarters. >> yes, it is. i just got to new york yesterday. >> jackie felt an obligation to
9:38 pm
campaign for bobby. she sets out with her little son john jr. on her hand. but the crowds and the paparazzi just overwhelming. >> it was incredibly painful for her to be playing a role and to watch what was going on. >> jackie is seriously in trouble psychologically. she hides it well, but she is suffering from severe post traumatic stress disorder. >> she couldn't handle it. so she didn't campaign nil. that was it. >> a wildly enthusiastic group of followers hear member kennedy beat his republican opponent. senator keating couldn't overcome the magic of the kennedy name. >> bobby's victory makes him the second kennedy currently sitting
9:39 pm
in the united states senate. >> although confined to the hospital since a plane crash earlier in the year, senator edward m. kennedy ran a victory of lands mark proportions to join his brother robert on the floor of the senate. >> you'll make a speech if you don't watch out. >> ted understood the issues bobby was passionate about. and maybe most importantly he was the one guy who would have his back. >> i explained to him that i was older. >> and to bobby, winning that senate race in new york meant not just that he could win an office in his own right, it meant that he had something to do in life other than just be jack's little brother. [ doorbell rings ] janice, mom told me you bought a house. okay. [ buttons clicking ] [ camera shutter clicks ] so, now that you have a house, you can use homequote explorer. quiet. i'm blasting my quads.
9:40 pm
janice, look. i'm in a meeting. -janice, look. -[ chuckles ] -look, look. -i'm looking. it's easy. you just answer some simple questions online, and you get coverage options to choose from. you're ruining my workout. cycling is my passion. you're ruining my workout. ♪ ♪ with t-mobile, get the fastest network ever, now on the fasters samsung ever. because fast should be fast. ♪ now at t-mobile, buy one samsung galaxy s9 and get one free. ♪
9:41 pm
♪ let's fly, let's fly away ♪ ♪ just say the words ♪ and we'll beat the birds down to acapulco bay ♪ ♪ it's perfect for a flying honeymoon they say ♪ ♪ come fly with me ♪ let's fly, let's fly away ♪ ♪ come fly with me ♪ let's fly, let's fly away ♪ money managers are pretty much the same. all but while some push high commission investment products, fisher investments avoids them. some advisers have hidden and layered fees. fisher investments never does.
9:42 pm
and while some advisers are happy to earn commissions from you whether you do well or not, fisher investments fees are structured so we do better when you do better. maybe that's why most of our clients come from other money managers. fisher investments. clearly better money management. this ijust listen. (vo) there's so much we want to show her. we needed a car that would last long enough to see it all. (avo) subaru outback. ninety eight percent are still on the road after 10 years. come on mom, let's go!
9:43 pm
three years after jack's death, bobby watches as jackie, john jr. and caroline christen the aircraft carrier uss john f.
9:44 pm
kennedy. jackie is devoting herself to her late husband's legacy, one to which bobby seems permanently tied. >> jack and bobby kennedy had a relationship like no other we've seen in the american presidency. they knew each other backwards and forwards. they could finish each other's sentences. and he sounds like his brother. and it reminds everyone of jack. >> but bobby had to decide what he believed, not what his brother believed and what was best for him. >> he was looking for a new constituency. he believed that if we took minorities, poor people, black people, women, and embrace them, that we would have a new majority in our country based on
9:45 pm
their needs and their aspirations. so part of it really was their ambition. >> he went to mississippi to see the worst poverty of all. >> i've never had a job. >> how long ago? >> about 15 months ago. >> we went down there together to mississippi, and he saw people without income. he saw grandmothers and mothers who could not provide breakfast or even lunch for their children. >> he said to me i've been in third world place, and i've never seen anything like this. it was so shocking to see that kind of thing in the united states. >> he spent time in the inner cities and was moved by those experiences and became more and more an advocate for the disposed. >> he had a sense of touch. he could rub a kid's cheek or try to get a child to respond. >> what do you like reading? >> and that a very different sense of the tough bobby kennedy that i had known before his brother's death.
9:46 pm
>> he has the capacity to grow. he is tough. he is arrogant, but if you get through all that and you touch his heart, you can change him. >> and i think that's what made bobby kennedy different from his brother. jack kennedy was an intellectual and he learned from on high. bobby kennedy, as he showed in mississippi learned at the grassroots in a way that stuck with him forever. intercontinental when bobby returned to hickory hill in mississippi, he burst in on his own dining room where his kids were eating. >> he said, you know, i have just been to mississippi where a family lives in a shack the size of your dining room, and they have tummies that are distended and sores all over those tummies. do you know how lucky you are? do you know how lucky you are.
9:47 pm
>> you know that in america, the richest country in the world, there was something deeply, morally wrong with having kids who were starving to death. >> we know it's a problem. we know we have the finances. we know we have the resources. what are we going to do? >> bobby is also beginning to question the morality of a war that has already claimed countless lives. >> senator robert f. kennedy makes news again with the demand that the bombing of north vietnamese targets be halted, a demand that could widen the differences between him and the president. mr. johnson says we shall persist in our operations in the north. >> bobby kennedy was in a sense present at the creation of vietnam. he was involved when his brother was getting u.s. troops in there in the early '60s. but by the mid, late-'60s, bobby is turning against the war. >> kennedy said all men make
9:48 pm
mistakes, but a good man yields when he knows his course is wrong and repairs the error. the only sin is pride. >> bobby was being seen increasingly as a figure around whom the left could rally that's going to challenge lyndon johnson. >> in 1968, there is a meeting at bobby kennedy's house to discuss the possibility of him running for the presidency. >> at that time, he was having this debate within himself. >> he didn't want to be seen as just running against lyndon johnson out of bitterness. >> all right. >> i caught you, daddy. >> also, he knew enough about politics that it's hard to run against a sitting president. >> bobby was insecure.
9:49 pm
bobby was riddled with doubts. but his wife believed that she was -- he was a great man fulfilling his destiny and he ought to be president. she gets the kids to paint on the sheet, "run beaubrun." >> on march 16th, 1968, robert kennedy addresses the nation from the very same room on capitol hill where john f. kennedy announced his candidacy eight years earlier. >> i run for the presidency because i want the democratic party and the united states of america to stand for hope instead of despair. >> ethel, she believed that this would be the first stepping stone of getting the white house restored rightfully to the kennedy family. and that was hard for jackie to hear. she would say i just fear that what happened to jack will
9:50 pm
happen with bobby. ♪ come to my window ♪ ohh ♪ crawl inside ♪ wait by the light of the moon ♪ applebee's to go. order online and get $10 off $30. now that's eatin' good in the neighborhood. where we're changing withs? contemporary make-overs. then, use the ultimate power handshake, the upper hander with a double palm grab. who has the upper hand now? start winning today. book now at lq.com. hey, i'm curious about your social security alerts. oh! just sign up online and we'll alert you if we find your social security number on any one of thousands of risky sites. that sounds super helpful. how much is it? well, if you have a discover card, it's free. no way! yes way! we just think it's important for you to be in the know. all right! hey... ewww! everything ok? being in the know is very good.
9:51 pm
yeah, it is. ooo don't shake! don't shake! ahhh! know if your social security number is found on risky sites. free from discover. alright, i brought in high protein to help get us moving. ...and help you feel more strength and energy in just two weeks! i'll take that. -yeeeeeah! ensure high protein. with 16 grams of protein and 4 grams of sugar. ensure. always be you. taking over 7,000 maria's steps each day.o, and she does it in any shoes she wants, with lasting comfort. only dr. scholl's stylish step has insoles that are clinically proven to provide all-day comfort. dr. scholl's. born to move.
9:52 pm
9:53 pm
in 1968, robert kennedy hopes to be the next democratic presidential candidate. >> when bobby kennedy goes on the campaign trail, he's a complete rock star. security was not great. people rip off his cuff links,
9:54 pm
they rip off his tie. they take his shoes. >> like the president of the united states, i'm going to work for those who are poor, those who -- whether they be white or black. >> he had a soft spot that had been unveiled. he was much more open to people. he was much warmer, and that comes out on the campaign trail. >> i'm going to talk about the problems of race and the problems of the city and it's not a light subject. >> there was a sense of urgency exami and a sense that the world was kind of coming apart and that he and this campaign were about trying to repair the world. >> he brought an energy, he brought a determination to do what is right. >> it wasn't exactly a well-planned campaign. it was more of a moral movement, and people were very excited about that. >> you must get a hustle and bustle on up there.
9:55 pm
>> his sister eunice and the rest of the family are never far away. >> thank you very much for coming today. glad to see you. and you. >> bobby's rival for the nomination are president johnson and eugene mccarthy, a senator from minnesota. but just 15 days into bobby's campaign, johnson makes a shocking announcement. >> i will not accept the nomination of my party for another term as your president. >> as angry protests mount over the war in vietnam, johnson quits the race in favor of his vice-president hugh bert humphrey. >> hugh bert humphrey has the establishment behind him. what bobby has is the imagination of the american people, the idea that you could restore the kennedy legacy and the kennedy dynasty. >> four days after johnson's announcement, bobby heads to a
9:56 pm
campaign rally in indianapolis. on the way he is told that the reverend dr. martin luther king, jr., has been shot. >> when he arrived in indianapolis, the authorities there asked him not to go. the crowd hadn't yet learned that king had been killed. there were riots erupting elsewhere in response to it and they were worried about his safety. and he insisted ongoing. >> the police tell him, you can't go there. the mayor of the city says you can't go there. and he said, you know? i can go in there with my whole family and sleep in a tent on the street. and be perfectly safe. and if the chief of police can't do that, that's his problem. >> he drives into the black ghetto in indianapolis. he jumps up on the back of a flatbed pickup truck.
9:57 pm
>> i have some very sad news for all of you, and i think sad news for all of our fellow citizens and people who love peace all over the world. and that is that martin luther king was shot and was killed tonight. >> there was this anguished reaction in the crowd, and he starts the speech. >> for those of you who are black and are attempted to be filled with hatred and mistrust of the injustice of such an act against all white people, i would only say that i can also feel in my own heart the same kind of feeling. i had a member of my family killed, but he was killed by a
9:58 pm
white man. >> the power of that revelation, that opening for him, they knew what he was doing and they responded to him. >> even in our sleep -- >> one of the only cities in america that didn't riot that night was indianapolis. and the reason was robert francis kennedy. >> what we need in the united states is not violence. >> he spoke to people's incredible pain. he had the ability to bring different sides together. >> of all the kennedys, i think bobby kennedy evolves the most, and in a way his heart break opens him up to the heart break of the world. >> on june 4, 1968, bobby wins
9:59 pm
the critical california primary. >> i thank all of you who made this possible this evening, all of the effort that you made. >> he won with a coalition that he sought, of black people, of brown people, of progressives, and it looked as if he was on the path to the nomination. >> after years in jack's shadow, bobby becomes a political force in his own right. >> the campaign was really rolling. i think we were very relaxed and confident. >> move back! move back! >> next on american dynasties, the kennedys. >> from my dad, the overwhelming burden to succeed was crushing. >> ted has too much to drink and gets into the car with a young
10:00 pm
woman. >> he took a radically wrong turn. >> rescue units marshalled all resources. >> they called me to say that john kennedy's plane is missing. >> how much tragedy, how much death can one family take? one of the most powerful men on earth holds a position that has existed for nearly 2000 years. as the world changes and faith evolves, his authority remains. what began with one apostle has become 1.2 billion followers under one man. he is the head of the catholic church, the pope. and this is his path to power.

409 Views

1 Favorite

info Stream Only

Uploaded by TV Archive on