The 1966 Game: Who’s Robert Kennedy Now?

Recently I began a game here called The 1966 Game. The idea is that our present political myths, which emerged from the Nixon Era, are in the process of dying out. Thus, the question, who today has the roles played in 1966?

We first identified John McCain as akin to Hubert Humphrey, because he is the most obvious heir to the incumbent of today, George W. Bush. We next identified Hillary Clinton as Nixon, because she is hated, steeped in past history, and a likely unifier of the "outside" party for the next election.

We left with the question, Who is Robert Kennedy now?

This is a poser, because the candidates are non-obvious. While Lyndon Johnson chose not to run in 1968, George W. Bush is term-limited, and can’t.  The correct answer would be someone who seeks to extend the current Nixon-Reagan-Bush thesis, not just embrace it but extend it further, as Kennedy sought to extend liberalism.

Robert Kennedy was very popular in his party’s grassroots. He would have been the obvious candidate to challenge Johnson, but felt 1972 would be his main chance, and did not enter the race until Eugene McCarthy pushed Johnson off the stage.

I know what you’re doing, and it’s a mistake. You’re thinking up Democrats. Don’t. The Robert Kennedy character is in the incumbent party, and wildly popular with the conservative grassroots. What we’re talking about, then, is the conservatives’ Dream Candidate.

Hey, I’m surprised too.

But George Allen does make some sense. He is the only Senator with a 100% conservative voting record, according to the American Conservative Union. He is the son of Richard Nixon’s favorite football coach — the George Allen of the Washington Redskins.

Some say he’s dumber than a sack of hair. Some say he might not get re-elected in Virginia this year. Some say both those things about George W. Bush, too.

And, hey. It’s only a game. Thanks for playing.

For next week, let’s swing the other way. Nelson Rockefeller.

Some Clues for y’all. Rockefeller was a member of the outside party, and his politics were close to those of the inside party. He was a liberal Republican, in other words, heir to Thomas E. Dewey.

The winner this time will be a conservative Democrat who is hated by the party’s grassroots, but who nevertheless has a fairly safe re-election lined up and is likely to be a candidate in 2008. (Sorry, Joe Lieberman — you’re more like Jacob Javits.)

Let me know what you think, and I’ll tell you who wins next time we play…The 1966 Game.