Oral history transcript, Lawrence F. O'Brien, interview 23 (XXIII), 7/21/1987, by Michael L. Gillette

Title:

Oral history transcript, Lawrence F. O'Brien, interview 23 (XXIII), 7/21/1987, by Michael L. Gillette

Number of Pages:

68

Description:

Robert F. Kennedy (RFK) loss to Eugene McCarthy in the Oregon primary; support for RFK going into the New York primary; concerns going into the California primary and memories of 1960 California problems with Edmund "Pat" Brown; the RFK/McCarthy debate before the California primary; RFK's chance of being nominated if he had lived; RFK's death and the funeral train; Sargent and Eunice Shriver's assistance in RFK's campaign; LBJ's and Hubert Humphrey's responses to RFK's death; Jesse Unruh's and Cesar Chavez's support for RFK; McCarthy's young supporters; RFK as attorney general and surveillance of Martin Luther King, Jr.; RFK's personality; RFK's response to McCarthy's criticisms; public interest in, and perception of, the Kennedys as politicians; comparing campaign organization in 1960 and 1968; the likelihood that RFK would have won primaries in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Illinois, and Ohio; O'Brien's job offers from Howard Hughes, the three television networks, and a book publisher; O'Brien's obligation to work for Humphrey's campaign through the end of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago; Humphrey's role in getting O'Brien's work obligations postponed to 1969 and later cancelled; offers from Look and Life magazines to do articles on O'Brien; accepting a job as president of McDonnell and Company brokerage firm; Bob Maheu's work for Howard Hughes; Hughes' eccentricity; O'Brien and his wife visiting the Humphreys in Waverly, Minnesota; Walter "Fritz" Mondale and Fred Harris of Humphrey's campaign staff; Joe Napolitan's work on publicity; Humphrey campaign finances; how the Vietnam War and the unit rule affected the 1968 Democratic National Convention; John Connally at the convention; rioting near the convention; Humphrey's inability to reach LBJ to discuss the Vietnam plank; the location and timing of the convention; frustration with the Democratic National Committee (DNC) over the organization of the convention; the possibility of a movement to draft Edward Kennedy; whether or not LBJ should attend the convention; Humphrey's optimism that there would be a breakthrough in Vietnam and his adherence to LBJ's Vietnam policies; John Connally's behavior at the convention and how he treated Fred Harris; Humphrey's stance on the unit rule; a meeting of Democratic leaders to make vice-presidential candidate suggestions to Humphrey; Humphrey selecting Edmund Muskie as his running mate; a proposal that Humphrey resign the vice presidency; Charles Murphy as LBJ's representative at the convention; the role of LBJ and the DNC the convention; efforts to establish dialogue between the Humphrey campaign and young people; violence caused by the youth movement and Chicago police; altercations at the convention between Abe Ribicoff and Richard Daley, a journalist and security staff; violence at the hotel and between McCarthy campaign staff and the police; developing the campaign outline with Ira Kapenstein, Joe Napolitan, Orville Freeman, and others in Waverly after the convention; bringing the campaign office into Democratic National Committee headquarters under O'Brien; Terry Sanford as chairman of the citizens' committee; the failure of Humphrey's campaign from the beginning.

Contributor:

O'Brien, Lawrence F. (Lawrence Francis), 1917-1990

Collection:

LBJ Library Oral Histories

Collection Description:

Go to List of Holdings

Series:

Transcripts of LBJ Library Oral Histories

See Also:

See all online interviews with Lawrence F. O'Brien

Relation:

Go to Interviewee bio page

Rights:

Possibly copyright restricted: see deed at end of transcript for details