I wouldn't necessarily call this an audition per se, but former Indiana congressman Tim Roemer certainly knows how to massage Barack Obama's trigger points.
When Roemer campaigned with Obama in Indiana last week, he gave Obama a copy of Ray E. Boomhower's Robert F. Kennedy and the 1968 Indiana Primary, a fascinating and detailed recounting of Kennedy's reaction to the death of Martin Luther King and the maelstrom that followed in April of 1968.
The book was especially relevant that day, given that the Kennedy-esque candidate was traveling with Ethel Kennedy 40 years to the day that Bobby Kennedy first set foot in Indiana to campaign.
A side note: I'm told that Roemer and Obama played basketball, and that Obama scored an 18-foot swish from a bounce pass from Roemer's 13-year-old son Matthew. Them Hoosiers sure like hoops...
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Thanks for the book tip, Marc. I'm a fan of you and The Atlantic. I was also personally present -as college student and cub reporter-- the moment Bobby Kennedy learned that King was shot on 4/4/68. It was at the Muncie IN Airport before he flew to Indianapolis for The Speech. A youth in a fenceline crowd informed him and I recorded it for front page of The Muncie Star on 4/5/68. Curious if Boomhower's book caught it. I'm sure he described Bobby's heartfelt and poignant speech in the inner city Indy neighborhood that night. Earlier that day, I recall shaking hands with Bobby and Ethel in an open car driven by Muncie Police Chief Jim Carey in the caravan. Pleased that Ethel traveled with Barack in my home state last week.
Posted by Brian Usher | April 12, 2008 5:24 PM