2016 Postmortem
In reply to the discussion: In 1980, did Ted Kennedy endorse Jimmy Carter? [View all]MADem
(135,425 posts)link, but sometimes, there are no links. There are just rumors, and "Didja hear's?"
And all the players are dead.
If RFK didn't have a hint that LBJ was thinking about leaving, I would be very surprised. I am not suggesting that LBJ called him up (they hated each other) and had a heart to heart, but if RFK wasn't hearing rumors, then he had no connections--and we KNOW he had connections. He was very close to Robert McNamara, who stayed on from JFK to LBJ's administration. Maybe he "heard' something.
You don't have to agree with me, but that IS my view. I don't think RFK made the decision without context, and that context may well have been the rumor, floating about, that LBJ was thinking about bagging it.
It's not like LBJ hadn't talked about it--he was talking about it from the summer before, as well:
http://www.texasmonthly.com/politics/the-night-lyndon-quit/
This is LBJ's secretary's POV, as he proudly notes that he kept it from the press --but as you can see, a LOT of people (Connally, for example, was a very chatty guy) knew - and I'll bet you anything the FBI knew, too. They listened in on everyone's phone callsl.