On this day in 1968, on its front page, the "Indianapolis Star" printed a cartoon indicating its feelings about having the presidential campaigns of U.S. senators Robert F. Kennedy (New York) and Eugene McCarthy (Minnesota) in the state for the May 7 Indiana primary.

The cartoon has McCarthy and RFK wooing a worried woman labeled “Mrs. Indiana” as Roger Branigin, running in the primary as a favorite son, looks down at them from the head of the table. McCarthy tickles the woman under the chin while RFK’s hand appears to be fondling her breast.

Star publisher Eugene Pulliam had been a friend of Branigin’s since Pulliam's days as editor and publisher of the Franklin Evening Star and had the Indianapolis newspaper fully support his candidacy in the 1968 Indiana primary.

The Democratic governor had been amazed that Pulliam, a strong supporter of Republican causes, had promoted his candidacy day after day in his newspaper, “sometimes when there was no news—or reason. You can’t purchase such support.”

During John Kennedy’s administration, Pulliam had developed a liking for the president’s wit, but never developed any such warm feelings for Robert Kennedy.

In Pulliam’s mind, the younger Kennedy possessed an unattractive personality that sorted people into two distinct categories—those who were with him, and those who were against him. “You could never relax and just be with him, like you could with Jack,” Pulliam said of RFK.

Although warned by his assistant publisher, his son, Gene, and the Star’s managing editor, William Dyer, that his efforts against Kennedy might harm the newspaper’s reputation, the publisher refused to pull any punches in the primary.

Longtime Star city editor Lawrence “Bo” Connor remembered receiving a memo from Pulliam that read: “I think whenever Senator McCarthy comes to Indiana that we should give him as full coverage as possible—but this does not apply to a man named Kennedy."

Later that fall, in a meeting with Indianapolis executives, Dyer tried to convince Pulliam that such slanted news coverage should never be allowed to happen again in the newspaper. Pulliam finally said: “Well, I guess we did go a little too far."

Kennedy, who won the Indiana primary, concluded his remarks on election night, after declaring victory, by saying: “I want to quote the Greek poet Aeschylus—I will sleep better tonight knowing Eugene Pulliam won’t."