Bobby Kennedy for President

While there is a great deal of rare historical footage, this production doesn't provide any in-depth analysis of the man and his candidacy. The lack of narration is both jarring and telling. Any analytical narrative would have emphasized the fact that, while popular and symbolic, RFK's candidacy had little substance. He became a hero to the Latinos and (to a lesser extent) African-Americans, but he never articulated a real plan or proposed a practical policy that would have improved their plight. He conveniently transformed his image from a Hawk in 1962 to a Dove in 1968 once he saw the political capital in representing the peace movement. Yet, again, he had no plan to end the conflict in Vietnam. I firmly believe RFK was in support of civil rights and peace, but it takes more than a family name and compassion to be an effective leader. I doubt RFK would have gone down in history as an effective president had he lived to be elected.

The fourth and last episode of this series tips the hand of the producers. If it wasn't apparent in the first three episodes, the message of the fourth was clearly that the country could have been "fixed" if RFK had lived. That of course is pure speculation and, as I wrote earlier, is doubtful. The last episode is little more than blatant hero worship. The final episode also spends too much time on pointless conspiracy theories, theories which attempt to amplify RFK's real importance by suggesting that a higher level of authority considered him a threat and had him eliminated. Sadly, it was only the maniacal actions of mentally-disturbed man that tragically ended the candidacy of Robert Kennedy.

I'll keep this review short. The first 2 episodes were solid and informative. The second 2 dragged and ultimately this could have easily been condensed into 3 episodes. Great footage and Bobby seemed like a good man and a genuine and great leader, but the anecdotes and interviews from the cast were very bland and offered little insight.

"If Lincoln didn't get us there, and Dr. King didn't get us there, and Bobby Kennedy didn't get us there, what the hell is left to say, that's going to have a rude awakening, to make a nation alive, and to greet the better part of itself? But we have to keep trying. And that's what Bobby Kennedy was really about. He was trying to find a solution."

-- Harry Belafonte

fwiw, this netflix documentary was better than wormwood in that there were zero re-enactments.

many times throughout this 4-part documentary, bias was shown in the form of choice of music, narration, and sequence. it did linger on some moments and ultra-compress others. what remains is a moving and largely factual account.

4/30/18. A nicely done documentary series about JFK's younger brother, the "runt" (as his father called him) who would be president. The 4 episodes cover the man behind the image. For those who were around in the '60s, Bobby was the amiable young idealist/activist who really cared about the social issues of the day. He was a much more passionate Kennedy than JFK. Sadly, he never had the chance to implement many of his ideas for social justice because he was assassinated 2 months after Martin Luther King was. Worth catching. Great archival footage that captured his boyish good looks and his humor to cover a nervous and charming personality. He would have made a good president.

This four part mini-series did an excellent job portraying the awful year of 1968 in our country's history. The historical footage of Bobby Kennedy's late entry and ultimately tragic run for the Democratic presidential was riveting, especially for those of us who lived through it. Just watching the footage you got a real feeling how Kennedy was connecting with a large portion of the electorate, especially minority groups. Certainly we had seen nothing like this before on the presidential level. Would it have been enough to win the nomination and the presidency? Of course, we'll never know. The first three one-hour episodes were excellent in showing all this. Unfortunately the fourth-and-final hour spoils much of what went before. Tendentious and polemical, it is filled with far-left personages applying 21st century themes and conjecture to a man who has been dead for over 50 years. A second gunman? Please... All bullets fired came from Sirhan's gun. Period. No conspiracy. Etc. And the last hour might have been called The Paul Schade Hour. A labor leader who was close to Bobby Kennedy, the last hour is filled with his opinions, gripes and views. Inconsequential and definitely not why you watch the series. So, in the end, flawed. But do watch the first three hours for some excellent footage about a key time in our nation's history, and a special man, Bobby Kennedy.