Sept. 2, 1964 - Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, immaculate in a gray suit and a black tie, opened his campaign for the Senate at dawn today in the clamorous Fulton Fish Market. Hundreds of fishmongers turned from their boxes of cod and mackerel to call out to Mr. Kennedy, shake his hand, or wish him luck.
He greeted one assembly of hip-booted men as “my fellow fishermen and my fellow New Yorkers.” Then he said: “I have eight children, and we eat fish every Friday. From now on, we’ll eat fish twice a week. That’s what we’re going to do for the fishing industry of New York.”
On his first day as a candidate, after more than a decade as a political investigator, manager, and administrator, the Attorney General also received an uproarious reception at the Manhattan terminal of the Staten Island ferry. There, he worked one of the richest political veins — the appeal to local pride.
He congratulated the Staten Island commuters on the Little League baseball championship won last week by a Staten Island team. And he remembered to mention the names of all the important Democratic politicians in the borough.
At neither place was Mr. Kennedy obliged to approach potential voters to ask for their support. As soon as he appeared, he was recognized and engulfed by excited people.
Some wanted to touch him. Others begged for his autograph and were rewarded with a squiggly, undecipherable scrawl.
As passengers poured off the boats from Staten Island, he made six short speeches from the top of a car.
“I think what we started three and a half years ago has to be continued,” Mr. Kennedy said again and again. “I want to have a role in that. I want to be a good United States Senator for all New Yorkers.”
After each speech, the Attorney General climbed down and began shaking as many hands as he could reach.
Shortly before 9 a.m., he returned to his suite at the Hotel Carlyle, 76th Street and Madison Avenue. From there, he went to the Commodore Hotel to address the state convention of the AFL-CIO.
As he emerged from the Commodore ballroom, he was again surrounded by bystanders.
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