![KENNEDY, Robert F. Draft typed press release, unsigned, no date [ca. 5 March1964]. 1 page, 4to, extensive corrections and emendations in Robert Kennedy's hand, matted and framed with an engraved portrait.](https://www.christies.com/img/LotImages/2012/NYR/2012_NYR_02655_0118_000(kennedy_robert_f_draft_typed_press_release_unsigned_no_date_ca_5_march123606).jpg?w=1)
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KENNEDY, Robert F. Draft typed press release, unsigned, no date [ca. 5 March1964]. 1 page, 4to, extensive corrections and emendations in Robert Kennedy's hand, matted and framed with an engraved portrait.
"PRESIDENT JOHNSON SHOULD BE FREE TO SELECT HIS OWN RUNNING MATE" - THE BITTER RIVALRY BETWEEN RFK AND LBJ
In the months after JFK's assassination many Democrats looked to Robert Kennedy to carry on the Camelot legacy, and to become if not the presidential nominee then certainly the vice-presidential candidate on the 1964 ticket. The only problem with this scenario was that LBJ and RFK despised each other. The notion of running together was abhorrent to each man. According to Jeff Shesol in his book, Mutual Contempt, Johnson exploded at the mere suggestion of tapping Bobby Kennedy as his running mate. "I'll quit it first!" Johnson said. "I don't want it that much!" Kennedy felt the need to squelch any talk of him joining the ticket, and discourage anyone thinking of writing-in his name in any of the Democratic primaries. "There have been a number of inquiries about the Attorney general's views on the campaign to write in his name for the Office of Vice President in the primary election in New Hampshire next week," the statement begins. "The AG, as he has said, intends to remain with the Justice Dept. thru November and he has not yet decided what he will do after the election." The choice of a VP nominee belonged to the delegates and to President Johnson. He reiterates that he "has not been in touch with anyone in New Hampshire or taken any action to encourage the campaign. In fact he has discouraged in the past and will continue to discourage any efforts on his behalf."
To Johnson's embarrassment, some 25,000 voters did write-in RFK's name for vice-president on their ballots. Kennedy, of course, did not stay in the Justice Department through November, but decided to run for the vacant Senate seat for New York. Johnson was glad to get him out of the Cabinet, and even campaigned alongside Bobby that fall. In the following years, as Johnson's prosecution of the Vietnam War became ever more unpopular, the hatred between the two men grew even more intense, leading to RFK's open challenge to LBJ in March 1968. Kennedy only entered the fray after Eugene McCarthy had nearly defeated Johnson in the New Hampshire primary on 12 March. But in the face of two serious challengers from within his own party, LBJ dropped out of the race on 31 March 1968. Kennedy seemed on the cusp of gaining the nomination and possibly the White House when he was shot and killed by Sirhan Sirhan at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles on 5 June 1968.
"PRESIDENT JOHNSON SHOULD BE FREE TO SELECT HIS OWN RUNNING MATE" - THE BITTER RIVALRY BETWEEN RFK AND LBJ
In the months after JFK's assassination many Democrats looked to Robert Kennedy to carry on the Camelot legacy, and to become if not the presidential nominee then certainly the vice-presidential candidate on the 1964 ticket. The only problem with this scenario was that LBJ and RFK despised each other. The notion of running together was abhorrent to each man. According to Jeff Shesol in his book, Mutual Contempt, Johnson exploded at the mere suggestion of tapping Bobby Kennedy as his running mate. "I'll quit it first!" Johnson said. "I don't want it that much!" Kennedy felt the need to squelch any talk of him joining the ticket, and discourage anyone thinking of writing-in his name in any of the Democratic primaries. "There have been a number of inquiries about the Attorney general's views on the campaign to write in his name for the Office of Vice President in the primary election in New Hampshire next week," the statement begins. "The AG, as he has said, intends to remain with the Justice Dept. thru November and he has not yet decided what he will do after the election." The choice of a VP nominee belonged to the delegates and to President Johnson. He reiterates that he "has not been in touch with anyone in New Hampshire or taken any action to encourage the campaign. In fact he has discouraged in the past and will continue to discourage any efforts on his behalf."
To Johnson's embarrassment, some 25,000 voters did write-in RFK's name for vice-president on their ballots. Kennedy, of course, did not stay in the Justice Department through November, but decided to run for the vacant Senate seat for New York. Johnson was glad to get him out of the Cabinet, and even campaigned alongside Bobby that fall. In the following years, as Johnson's prosecution of the Vietnam War became ever more unpopular, the hatred between the two men grew even more intense, leading to RFK's open challenge to LBJ in March 1968. Kennedy only entered the fray after Eugene McCarthy had nearly defeated Johnson in the New Hampshire primary on 12 March. But in the face of two serious challengers from within his own party, LBJ dropped out of the race on 31 March 1968. Kennedy seemed on the cusp of gaining the nomination and possibly the White House when he was shot and killed by Sirhan Sirhan at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles on 5 June 1968.