Forty years ago today, Robert Francis Kennedy was gunned down shortly after midnight. His assassination was one of our nation’s darkest moments, but RFK’s legacy lives on and inspires Americans young and old to this day.

Here’s a look at what some are saying about Robert F. Kennedy on this 40th anniversary of his tragic death in California …

• The enduring power of RFK’s living legacy - The Baltimore Sun

• The challenges our nation faces today were at the forefront of Robert Kennedy’s mind, and his career in public service - The Boston Globe

• How Sen. Barack Obama serves as a bridge between Kennedy and another fallen leader of his time, Martin Luther King, Jr. - RealClearPolitics

• Kennedy’s calming response to King’s death in Memphis was one of his finest hours - The BBC

• Remembering RFK’s 1968 campaign for the presidency - The Washington Post

• Robert Kennedy’s son, Joseph Kennedy, reflects on his father in a New York Times editorial.

• RFK’s younger brother, Ted Kennedy, now the family patriarch but battling health problems here in 2008, delivered RFK’s eulogy 40 years ago.

Donkey Dish strives to whet your appetite for political punditry, be it with our own rants or turning our attention to what’s being written and spoken elsewhere on the issues you care about most. Here are some of today’s top stories …

Clinton vs. Obama

• A week from today, the marathon will be over. Hillary Clinton hopes to close strong in Puerto Rico, while Barack Obama is looking to win over enough superdelegates to pass the 2,026 threshold. Some feel the former First Lady should think about exiting now, with dignity.

Obama vs. McCain

• In other to win, Obama will need new electoral math for a Democratic hopeful - and he’s laying the groundwork now by going toe-to-toe with McCain out West. In a race this historic, and with all the issues at stake, will voters simply go for the one most like them?

Politics & Media

• Bill Clinton’s conspiracy theories aside, few will dispute that MSNBC’s Chris Matthews and Keith Olbermann worship Barack Obama - but it’s possibly to his detriment, not HRC’s. On a similar note, here’s an interesting commentary on the evolution of Clinton hatred.

Global Warming

• As evidenced by a political ad he’s already run, John McCain is battling much of his own party on this monumental issue - and the fight has just begun. While environmentalists won’t even go there, some experts feel the only way to combat the energy crisis is to go nuclear.

Life on Mars

• Is it out there? Yes, according to a 2003 episode of The West Wing entitled “Life on Mars.” It was never really discussed, however - merely used as a side note in the scandal leading to the Vice President’s resignation. Back in reality, a new glitch could delay our effort to answer that question … one that has always played a role in the red planet’s mystique.

Donkey Dish strives to whet your appetite for political punditry, be it with our own rants or turning our attention to what’s being written and spoken elsewhere on the issues you care about most. Here are some of today’s top stories …

Obama vs. Clinton

• Bill Clinton alleges that there is a conspiracy against HRC. Really. Barack Obama, meanwhile, is focused on John McCain - and Iraq. Despite what Keith Olbermann believes, HRC was not wishing death upon Obama with her reference to the RFK assassination last week. She was, however, using the following justification for staying in: “stuff happens.”

McCain vs. the Democrats

• As the press begins to more closely examine the real Sen. John McCain, the candidate weighs his Vice Presidential options. Mitt Romney (below) is one of the most talked about. Charlie Crist and Florida are key to any hopes McCain has of winning, especially since Virginia and other states will be competitive.

Iran, Iraq, al Qaeda, etc.

• Iran’s “willful” non-cooperation is becoming a pattern, according to nuclear agency officials. At the same time, the White House responded to the New York Times piece slamming it over the G.I. bill. Meanwhile, the New Yorker examines the rebellion within al Qaeda, and the Wall Street Journal takes a look back at how George W. Bush sold the war.

Energy Crises

• Gas is expensive. Did you catch that? But where’s the price of oil headed long term? The answer may surprise you. Despite what appears to be a glaring need, some are calling a time out on biofuels. Also, airline economics have flown into the perfect storm.

Donkey Dish strives to whet your appetite for political punditry, be it with our own rants or turning our attention to what’s being written and spoken elsewhere on the issues you care about most. Here are some of today’s top stories …

John McCain

• While the Cindy McCain Vogue article and photos generate major buzz, the Arizona Senator himself received a clean bill of health. But don’t expect this positive news is the end of his critics trying to make his age an issue. In an effort to nip another potential Democratic talking point in the bud, McCain publicly repudiated several right-wing pastors.

Hillary Clinton

• While only the New York Senator knows what her endgame actually is, theories abound. As for sexism and media bias hindering her campaign? Some buy that argument, but others say it’s just plain sissy.

Iraq

• Gen David Petraeus says more troop cuts are likely. And, in a stunning reversal of conventional wisdom that may apply to Iraq and other issues, failure is increasingly being viewed as a viable alternative to success.

Ted Kennedy

• While the “Lion of the Senate” is resting at home on Cape Cod after being diagnosed with a brain tumor, he will be replaced as Wesleyan University commencement speaker by a last-minute fill-in: Barack Obama.

Farm Bill Fumble

• The Senate voted 82-13 to override W’s veto of a crucial farm subsidy bill Thursday. A portion of the bill, however, remains in limbo after lawmakers discovered that the version sent to the White House was … missing part of it. Details. Anyone curious what this bill actually does?

Donkey Dish strives to whet your appetite for political punditry, be it with our own rants or turning our attention to what’s being written and spoken elsewhere on the issues you care about most. Here are some of today’s top stories …

McCain & Republicans

• John McCain may be hosting a potential tryout for V.P. short list candidates this week - some of which (Bobby Jindal, Charlie Crist) we’ve discussed at length here at the Dish. But while McCain hangs tough, the Republican undercard may be facing a rout in the 2008 U.S. Senate elections.

Obama vs. Clinton

• Despite what many believe to be meaningless wins, Hillary Clinton pushes on in the fight for the Democratic nomination, urging in South Florida that their ostracized delegates must be counted in this race Many Sunshine State Jews, meanwhile, apparently aren’t fans of Barack Obama.

Sen. Ted Kennedy

• After his seizure and being diagnosed with a brain tumor, Ted Kennedy was released from Massachusetts General Hospital and returned to his home to Hyannisport. Despite his many flaws, this icon of the political world, and particularly its liberal sphere, will go down as an all-time great.

Energy Crisis

• The end of cheap oil may not be around the corner in 2015 - it looks like it’s already upon us. Maybe you’ve noticed. In other news you will probably not consider shocking, there’s no end in sight for record prices. On Capitol Hill, oil execs get grilled but offer little insight or relief.

Iraq War

• Iraqi troops are met with welcome in Sadr City, but elsewhere in the occupied nation, U.S. troops and Shiite militants continue to clash.

Donkey Dish strives to whet your appetite for political punditry, be it with our own rants or turning our attention to what’s being written and spoken elsewhere on the issues you care about most. Here are some of today’s top stories …

Kentucky and Oregon Primaries

• Despite seemingly trying to have it both ways with her arguments, and facing difficult odds as Sen. Barack Obama nears a majority of pledged delegates with 103 in play today, Sen. Hillary Clinton is campaigning hard in Kentucky and shows every sign of soldiering on.

Obama vs. McCain

• While Clinton goes full tilt in the primary, Obama is shifting slowly to general election mode, going after Sen. John McCain and Iran as their foreign policy squabble continues. Today he drew the ire of McCain once again. As far the idea of an Obama-Clinton “dream ticket” taking on McCain in the fall, his advisers are apparently not keen on it.

Iraq, Iran and Israel

• As troops push into Sadr City, Obama says McCain’s claim that U.S. forces will be out of Iraq by 2013 is like George Bush’s “Mission Accomplished” absurdity. Are the Republicans’ efforts to tarnish Obama regarding Iran just scare tactics or is he weak on security? The Jerusalem Post offers an interesting examination of Obama’s “appeasement” style.

California Ruling

• Having overturned the state’s gay marriage ban last week, the California Supreme Court has sparked massive debate. Some feel it’s a decision that could radically shift paradigms in the decades to come, and in the short term, it’s clearly John McCain’s least favorite talking point …

Now that Donkey Dish has whet your appetite for political punditry, check out what other media sources (mainstream and otherwise) had to say about last night’s debacle debate between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton in Philadelphia…

• What about us? The Philadelphia Daily News‘ irate Will Bunch penned an open letter to Charlie Gibson and George Stephanapoulos, lambasting their inane “issue” questions and trivial wastes of valuable time.

• According to Andrew Sullivan of The Atlantic, it was a lifeless, drained and dreary Obama turning in his worst performance yet. Yes, he’s up against the Clinton wood-chipper, but he wilted painfully.

• The Politico’s Ben Smith has two critical points: 1. Didn’t those quotes from the Constitution really set the tone? 2. How much money will Obama raise off supporters’ perception that this debate was unfair? [NOTE: No fewer than three emails from the Barack Obama campaign have been received by one of our contributors in the past 12 hours].

Hillary Clinton shields her eyes. Last night’s debate made us wince, as well.

• Joe Sudbay of the Americablog says it was, quite simply, the worst. Debate. Ever. The level of discourse has reached a new low - a very new low. Obama did fine, but it was a disaster for our political system.

• Was this debate Barack Obama’s Waterloo? Hot Air’s Ed Morrissey feels Obama was exposed as an empty suit, while Hillary cleaned his clock, and the real winner, John McCain, didn’t even have to show up.

• If either candidate hoped to score a clear victory, writes Peter Canellos of the Boston Globe, those hopes evaporated as ABC’s harsh questions on their personal “gaffes” and connections threw them both off.

• There are only two ways Clinton can win, Stephen Spruiell of the National Review reminds us - overcome Barack Obama’s lead in pledged delegates, or win the votes of the superdelegates. Both are extremely unlikely.

For those who haven’t seen it, we recommend HBO’s oddly wonderful polygamist drama Big Love. It’s incredibly strange, yet sharp and thought-provoking.

Additionally, it contains striking similarities to the real-life Texas polygamist compound raided by federal agents and dominating news this month.

The series centers around a small businessman (Bill Paxton), who aside from being married to three different women - who live in separate houses, but right next to the others - lives an ordinary life in suburban Salt Lake City.

One of the wives, played by Chloe Sevigny, is from a polygamist compound depicted similarly to what we’ve learned about the Eldorado, Tx., group.

Her father (Harry Dean Stanton) is the shady leader - and self-proclaimed prophet - of the fundamentalist sect, where many scenes take place.

The other two wives - one older and one younger, both equally complicit in the family’s polygamist practices - enjoyed regular suburban upbringings.

Back to reality, the photo below shows women at The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, at the Yearning for Zion Ranch.

No idea if Big Love is rooted specifically in Schleicher County, Texas, or how many such compounds exist in the western U.S., but this month’s news shows that it’s culled from experiences that are undeniably real.

In any event, rent the DVD. It’s a realistic and, at times, quite disturbing. At the same time, it’s a sympathetic, endearing story of family like none other.

Now that Donkey Dish has whet your appetite for political punditry, check out other servings around the Net, with bloggers and “real” journalists tackling the campaign in Pennsylvania, California, and North Carolina, plus the good things about Katie Couric, shady Clinton business dealings and a battle for control of John McCain…

• On Sunday, in all 53 California districts, caucuses will be held to choose delegates to the national convention. This is, obviously, generating great interest this year. MyDD goes inside the California delegate purge.

• We’ve seen a slew of Pennsylvania polls, but Keystone Politics gives us a different set of figures - on who’ll be voting. More than 50,300 voters in Philadelphia alone have registered as Democrats since November.

• From the overlooked future campaign battleground of North Carolina, Blue NC has a neat account (and Michelle Obama photos) of an aspiring First Lady speaking to a boisterous crowd at North Carolina State this week.

• How to explain the odd connection between Bill Clinton, Raffaello Follieri (Italian real estate hot shot who dates Anne Hathaway) and Pennsylvania church-buying ventures gone awry? The Huffington Post tries.

• The NeoCons and pragmatists are at war over John McCain’s candidacy, and specifically its foreign policy, the New York Times reports in a piece that illustrates the ideological divides within the Republican Party.

• With criticism rampant and rumors of her imminent departure spreading like wildfire, Katie Couric could use, and perhaps deserves a little positive press. So from the Jossip comes eight ways viewers can identify with Katie.

• The word “Frankenstein” has come to mean monsters of our own creation, and beyond our control. The slow demise from the disregard with which we have treated our environment, and the threat of nuclear annihilation are both Frankensteins of our own making, the Existentialist Cowboy writes.

Now that Donkey Dish has whet your appetite for political punditry, check out other servings around the Net, with various bloggers and pundits taking on Mark Penn, Mike Huckabee, media bias, “victories” in Iraq and more…

• It didn’t derail his campaign, but controversy surrounding the comments made by Rev. Jeremiah Wright stripped Sen. Barack Obama of his image as the country’s anointed savior, writes Steven Stark of The Boston Phoenix.

• Also from here in Boston, the Globe breaks down the media bias quotient in a McCain-Obama race. McCain is a tough cookie, but he Illinois Senator takes it, 59-41! Obama beats Hillary Clinton 73-27, incidentally.

• We missed this guy: Mike Huckabee disappeared from the news a while ago now. When the Wonkette tried to track him down, a mysterious “under construction” website was found. What’s could our man be up to?

• The Clinton-Colombia connection - under scrutiny after Mark Penn and the revelation that her spokesman Howard Wolfson also has financial ties to Colombia - goes back a long way, according to The Huffington Post.

• More on this week’s Iraq war hearings, and the nuanced (at best), possibly duplicitous (at worst) responses provided by Gen. “Petraeus the Shameless,” courtesy of the terrific One Little Victory blog …

• Speaking of a victory, are we any closer to one in Iraq? Joe Conason of TruthDig writes that Republicans’ remedy for destructive consequences in Iraq is a wider and even more dangerous conflict …

• When celebrity gossip and politics collide: In large part because of one blogger’s biased reporting and perceived slander against Barack Obama, a new website is urging everyone to boycott Perez Hilton …