Professor: The latest Kennedy to seek high political office falls short of his uncle's mantle

This commentary is written by John A. Tures, a professor of political science at LaGrange College.

At the 1988 vice presidential debate, Indiana Sen. Dan Quayle tried to liken himself to President John F. Kennedy for experience when he sought the White House. Longtime Texas Sen. Lloyd Bentsen pounced.

“Senator, I served with Jack Kennedy. I knew Jack Kennedy. Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine. Senator, you’re no Jack Kennedy,” Bentsen responded.

Political Dictionary now claims “‘You’re no Jack Kennedy" is a phrase used to deflate politicians who are perceived as thinking too highly of themselves.”

As another Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr, seeks the presidency, it remains to be seen whether this newest member of the famous political family is up to the task of bearing the mantle as he tries to dethrone incumbent President Joe Biden.

“RFK Jr.’s 2024 Campaign Showing Momentum” ran the Fox News headline, in an interview with Kennedy’s campaign manager Dennis Kucinich, a former Ohio congressman. I then decided to see if this was the case. I looked at RFK Jr.’s poll numbers in RealClearPolitics, comparing his June showings to his poll numbers from May and the end of April.

The results reveal that in April and May, Kennedy averaged 17% in seven polls. But that fell to only an average of 14.4% in all seven June polls. Moreover, the average Biden lead during that time goes from 45.5% points in April-May to 48.3% points in June.

Kennedy’s momentum isn’t growing. It’s shrinking.

What could be causing this drop in survey support? Early on, Kennedy was getting a lot of attention and even support, because, well, he’s a Kennedy, and that’s what the family label gets.

According to NY Mag, "Among those who would consider Kennedy, 20% cite his connections to the Kennedy family as the main reason. One said, 'I liked his dad (RFK) and his uncle (JFK) a lot. I would hope he has a similar mindset.' Many suggested they are merely open to learning more: 17% say they just don’t know enough about him to rule him out and 10% that they are open-minded and would consider any candidate...About 1 in 8 (12%) say they would consider him because they support his views or policies and 4% mention his views specifically on environmental issues. Not a word was offered about his 'views or policies' on vaccinations, which notoriously preceded the COVID-19 pandemic.”

More from Professor Tures: United Methodists finding their voices as church weathers disaffiliations, ideological crisis

But perhaps when they find out his view on all vaccines, not during those from COVID-19, there’s a little more skepticism of the candidate, regardless of his last name. Kucinich claimed the anti-vax label wasn’t fair, but struggled when asked which (if any) vaccines Kennedy supported. And RFK Jr’s vaccine skepticism is also accompanied by belief in other conspiracies.

Democrats are even more likely to be suspicious when they find out who has been supporting RFK Jr.

“There’s nothing abnormal about a candidate getting a super PAC, even a candidate making a longshot bid like Kennedy’s. What is abnormal, however, is that Kennedy is running as a Democrat in the Democratic primary, while the creators of the super PAC have a deeply pro-Donald Trump bent — including ties to arch-MAGA officials such as Marjorie Taylor Greene, George Santos, and Herschel Walker,” writes Rolling Stone, despite Greene’s insistence than she learned that RFK Jr. really is a Democrat and that she disagrees with him on some issues.

As Kennedy continues to fall in the polls, we’ll see if the GOP will still push his candidacy, or find another way to go after Biden, with either Marianne Williamson, Tulsi Gabbard, Cornel West, or maybe the No Labels bunch, to undermine Biden’s winning coalition from 2020.

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Robert Kennedy Jr. presidential bid propped by by Republicans