LBJ was a great President

I will happily admit right now that I love LBJ. He is my favourite 20^th century President (different from “the best”, which is FDR, whilst Lincoln and Jefferson have to fight it out for my “best ever”) and whilst he made mistakes (some of them, especially concerning Vietnam, were absolutely terrible), out of his time in power come some of the most amazing stories and incredible legislation.

                                            

He is still underappreciated but I am convinced the time will come when people will really start to see him as one of the great Presidents of the USA.

First a bit of background – Lyndon Baines Johnson was a Southern Democrat, a beast that was becoming rare at the time as the South slowly became red all over.

He worked his way through both the House and the Senate, spending 30 years on Capitol Hill before running for the Democrat nomination.

Ultimately he failed to the bright, young and rich JFK but the man from Massachusetts offered him the ticket and he accepted.

It was a genius move from JFK, meaning that the scary, liberal and Catholic Northerner gained Southern votes and ultimately won the White House.

After the election, Johnson didn’t enjoy being VP – he was left powerless and was snubbed by many of those who were close to Kennedy, though the President himself tried to keep his VP in the loop.

His main role became taking part in diplomatic missions though he also headed up the task force that recommended to JFK that NASA try to land a man on the moon by the end of the 1960s.

This plan is commonly credited to JFK, and not many people know that LBJ played a leading role in both its creation and (once President) its completion, though Nixon got to hog the limelight when the crew of Apollo 11 returned.

All this changed though on November 22 1963. JFK is shot and LBJ (who was in the motorcade, though not the same vehicle) is sworn in on an aeroplane with the slain President’s widow at his side.

It was a shaky start, but over the next few years LBJ helped pass some of the greatest pieces of US legislation of the 20^th century.

His used both his Congressional experience and his Southern roots, twisting arms and guiding those who were unsure.

Aside from that he swore like an absolute trooper, and some of his insults are the best known amongst Presidents.

For what was needed, he was absolutely the best man for the job.

A quick rundown of what he achieved:

1964 saw the signing of the Civil Rights Act, which JFK tried hard to promote in public but about which actually did very little. If anyone doubts this, the only published study on JFK’s role in the civil rights fight is called ‘The Bystander’. Blunt but true.

Once in the White House, LBJ invoked JFK and was able to ride the national grief, but it was mainly his use of his Southern connections that helped him defeat a 57 day filibuster and pass the heavily pork-barrelled Act. Martin Luther King was at LBJ’s side when he signed the legislation that outlawed almost all forms of racial segregation.

1965 was a bumper year.

Johnson signed the Voting Rights Acts (again with MLK at his side), another victory for civil rights campaigners as it enforced federal monitoring of elections and removed blocks such as quizzes on current affairs as barriers to voting. This meant blacks were no longer (in all but law) banned from voting in many states and so could express their opinion, in turn electing their own black representatives.

LBJ also approved the Education Act, ensuring schools for all, signing it in the one room Texan school house he had been taught in.

Healthcare reform also came in, with the President approving help for those who struggled with health bills. Medicaid supported those who couldn’t afford it, whilst Medicare helped the over-65s who obviously had much bigger bills to pay.

Both systems remain in place and whilst they have many failings (and will have to adapt as the baby-boomers get older) they have done a great job.

All this was part of LBJ's “Great Society” (not Big Society!) campaign, which was supported on the Capitol by a Democratic majority and a divided GOP.

These promised bits of legislation also helped Johnson to victory in the 1964 election where he received 61% percent of the popular vote (still the largest share in US history) and an incredible 486 electoral votes (a record that was later beaten by Reagan in 1980 but still a remarkable tally).

LBJ’s domestic work was however overshadowed by the growing spectre of Vietnam, with the chant “Hey, hey, LBJ, how many kids did you kill today?” becoming synonymous with the war.

LBJ himself hated the conflict, even calling it “that bitch of a war on the other side of the world”.

However he was committed to the cause and it was on his watch that thousands of US soldiers first got involved as combat troops rather than as the vaguely named “advisors” that Kennedy approved.

Other campaigns, in particular the highly controversial aerial bombing operation named Rolling Thunder, were approved by Johnson and led to the deaths of thousands.

Although he sought peace through the Paris talks they floundered at the basic level of the shape of the table that should be used and so he got nowhere.

Under LBJ public opinion changed, so these mistakes surrounding a futile and unpopular war in Vietnam helped bring him down.

LBJ realised this and announced on national TV that he wouldn’t run for election again in 1968, even though he could have done under the terms of the 22^nd Amendment.

His actions surrounding Vietnam ultimately split the Democratic Party as anti-war campaigners and LBJ fans supported different candidates, which led to a divided Convention and in turn gifted the Presidency to Nixon.

LBJ’s watch also included the other two great political assassinations of the 1960s, that of MLK on April 4^th 1968 and of Bobby Kennedy (Attorney General to his brother and at the time an anti-war candidate for the Democratic nomination) on June 6^th of the same year.

He spent his last few months in the White House reportedly pacing the corridors at night and staring at Presidential portraits, taking a particular shine to Woodrow Wilson.

I can’t help but think that he was all too aware that his name would always be linked to his mistakes in Vietnam, whilst his Presidency would be sandwiched between the assassinations of the most popular and divisive politicians and leaders of the period.

No doubt this was also the truth with the Moon landing – JFK announced the plan, Nixon welcomed home the heroes. LBJ recommended it, funded it and watched over its progress but doesn’t get the praise he deserves for his involvement.

Even more  is all the more unusual when one considers that LBJ did mull over the idea of bursting into the 1968 Convention, which could not decide on a candidate over multiple votes, and claiming the nomination.

The plan was turned down by the Secret Service (fortunately on security grounds, though also you hope some Democrat stooge told them it was a stupid idea) but you can’t help but think what might have happened. Nixon would have had a harder fight and LBJ might have overseen more of the Vietnamese negotiations. Whatever the case, I think he would be better appreciated than he is nowadays.

LBJ died in January 1973 after a massive heart, a day before the Vietnamese ceasefire was signed and just a few weeks after he would have resigned the Presidency had he won the 1968 election. Again, I just can’t help but wonder what might have been.......

Debate warmly encouraged.