I nursed this single-volume life of Lyndon Johnson from the week before Christmas thru the Texas visit till a few days ago. It served its purpose, summarizing the life of this fascinating man in one value.
Lyndon Johnson was a son of the Texas Hill Country. P. 1
A gap year. P. 21
A skilled campus politician at San Marcos. P. 30
LBJ arrived at the nation’s capital December 7, 1931, to begin his job as congressional secretary. P. 35
LBJ was unquestionably a New Dealer. P. 79
Hugo Black was in his inner circle. P.80
Timeout for war. P 105
He was always a Roosevelt man. P. 106
Affected by Neville Chamberlain, perhaps he misapplied what he thought he learned with Viet Nam. P. 107
His brief armed-services career and medal received is subject to multiple interpretations. I don’t see how you smear him but it’s right to be somewhat skeptical. Building political capital plus patriotism. P. 108
LBJ just missed getting on a plane that was shot down. P. 111
He probably did inflate his wartime experience. P. 113
In the 50's LBJ stood about half-way between the southern dixiecrats and the northern Democrats. P. 168
Liberal personal inclinations but had to respect Texas base. P. 148
In the 50's LBJ stood about half-way between the southern dixiecrats and the northern Democrats. P. 168
The Johnson Treatment. He was a downfield blocker and a running fullback at the same time non-stop. P. 186-87
There was a 1960 civil rights bill. P. 235
The vice-presidency was a terrible trap. P. 255
The Kennedys made fun of Johnson during his brief time as Veep. P. 256-57
There was a strong element of obsession in LBJ’s dealings with Bobby Kennedy. RJK aroused all his insecurities and inferiorities. Johnson could never attain the Kennedy’s glamor and sophistication. P. 323
Overall I would say this is a balanced treatment of Lyndon Johnson.
In 1964 the country took Goldwater’s insanity seriously. We do not take Trump’s insanity seriously. P. 329
Johnson won every sector of the electorate except the hardcore right. P. 329
The public saw Goldwater as a trigger-happy warmonger. P. 330
Lyndon and Lady Bird voted in Johnson City soon after the polling place opened. They had dinner back in Austin at the Driskill Hotel. P. 333
LBJ had a superb sense of timing. After his overwhelming election, he knew he had to act quickly to get his program enacted. P. 335
His volatile personality. A gift for vicious mimicry. He demanded total dedication from the people who worked for him. Great ego and energy. Sensitive, yet insensitive. P. 336
His task: keep the economy growing, create opportunity for all, improve the texture of life for all Americans. P. 336
He envisioned preserving a “green legacy” for American’s children. P. 336
On July 8th and 9th, 1965, Johnson conferred with Cold War warriors like Omar Bradley and Dean Acheson on what to do about Viet Nam. They urged him to press forward militarily else we would be backing down against the Soviet Union although they cautioned we should by all means not drag the USSR into the war. What was LBJ supposed to do? P. 352
Could LBJ have pulled out of Viet Nam? This author seems to think not, that he did not have the gravitas to have pulled if off. His greatness in domestic legislation notwithstanding, he did not have the wherewithal to have done what in retrospect was right thing in Viet Nam. Perhaps Kennedy could have done so. We will never know. But then Kennedy would not have achieved Johnson’s Great Society legislation. P.354
On August 6, 1965, President Johnson signed the voting rights act at the Capitol.
“. . . . the vote is the most powerful instrument ever devised by man for breaking down injustice and destroying the terrible walls which imprison men because they are different from other men.”
The law achieved what it intended. In Dallas County, Alabama, black voter enrollment increased almost instantly from 320 to 6,789. In four years black enrollment increased from 1 million to over 3 million. The number of black elected officials increased quickly as well. Johnson knew that the new law would destroy the Democratic Party in the South. He was correct. The Republican surge in the South that began in 1965 is a direct result of the Voting Rights Act. Yet is was the right thing to do, equality over party. P. 359
Johnson makes a speech at Howard Univ. in 1965 in which, according to this author, he makes a case for affirmative action and thus initiates white racial resentment. P.360
The enactment of Medicare in 1965 was the culmination of a 31-yr. battle, and Lyndon Johnson got it done. P. 367
Johnson’s achievements are simply extraordinary.
Johnson did exhibit crude manners designed to humiliate his followers. P. 371
Senator Fulbright spoke of the “arrogance of power” referring to the mistake of connecting power to virtue and responsibilities. P. 393
The year following the 1966 midterms was the nadir of the Johnson presidency. P.407
“We will stand firm in Viet Nam.” President Johnson, January of 1967 P. 409
Lyndon Johnson was always afraid of dying young, and he figured that giving up the presidency might give him some extra years. P. 440
Deficits plus full employment equal inflation. Really? P. 442
Califano was an unreconstructed liberal. P. 443
With his SORU message in January of 1968 despite the war LBJ was looking ahead domestically. P. 444
It was over in 1968 before 3/31. The Pentagon wanted more troops with no end in sight. The Tet offensive and Walter Cronkite 30 minutes TV special 2/27 sealed the deal. P. 450
Johnson would defend his Viet Nam policies to his dying day. He remained committed to the domino theory. P. 456-57
Fear of mortality played into his announced decision of March 31, 1968. He and his family believed he would not live through another term. He also feared humiliation. P. 458
LBJ knew he was tired when his eyes hurt. P. 458
The public reaction to his speech was electric. P. 460
We will probably never know exactly how LBJ felt in January of 1973 about his Viet Nam legacy.
After’s McGovern’s nomination in 1972, he and LBJ met at the ranch. Johnson had white hair down to this shoulders! Sargent Shriver said he looked like Custer. I did knot he let his hair grow this long! Lady Bird watched him with a sad smile. Poor thing! They agreed to disagree about Viet Nam. It sounds like LBJ never backed down. People were surprised by this meeting. Johnson said he wanted it known that he died a Democrat. P. 528-29
Throughout his final months, Johnson had building heart problems. His congestive heart problems made him unsuitable for by-pass.
“When I walks, I walk slowly. When I sits, I sit loosely. And when I feel a worry coming on, I just go to sleep.” P. 529
“I don’t want to linger like Eisenhower. When I go, I want to go fast.” P. 529
Yet he obviously hoped for a few more years. P. 529
In November the Johnsons celebrated their 38th wedding anniversary. P. 530
In December of 1972 he donated the ranch to the public. P. 530
He attend a 2-day civil rights symposium in Austin on December 11th & 12th. P. 531
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