Johnson sensed that he had gone as far in the senate as he ever would and turned his sights on the prize of prizes: the presidency of the United States. .
In 1952 and 1956, Johnson had tried but failed to be named vice president on the Democratic ticket. In 1960, his primary foe for the nomination was his Senate colleague,John Fitzgerald Kennedy. For the first time in LBJ's life, he was out-campaigned. JFK worked the political machines with corporate efficiency and piled up one primary win after another. Johnson held back, waiting for Kennedy's youth and Catholicism to take its toll, but it never did. JFK won the party's nomination on the first ballot. However, Kennedy was a decided underdog against the incumbent vice president Richard Nixon who was a skilled and compelling candidate. The Democrats needed a running mate who would .
appeal to those that JFK made uneasy. LBJ, a southern, Protestant, mature and the ultimate congressional insider would be the perfect contrasting figure to JFK. Kennedy was surprised when Johnson not only accepted the offer, but campaigned hard for his ticket. This strategy paid off for Kennedy because the 1960 presidential campaign proved to be closest presidential race of the century and propelled JFK into the White House.
Kennedy relegated Johnson to the outer circles of his administration, but did give him some significant responsibilities. Johnson headed the space program, played a key role in military policy and chaired a national commission on equal opportunity for minority Americans. Overall, Johnson was frustrated as vice president, particularly when Kennedy ignored him on foreign policy and refused to take advantage of his expertise in dealing with Congress. .
On November 22, 1963 during a visit to Texas for Kennedy to shore up support for his re-election bid, Johnson was riding two cars behind the Kennedy's in the motorcade and witnessed the tragedy unfold before his eyes.
The next bill LBJ attained was the Voting Rights Act of 1965. ... As LBJ took over the presidency that Kennedy had left behind, one of LBJ's first actions was to fully commit himself to the civil rights bill. ... LBJ and his officials had predicted 69 votes. ... LBJ halted the bombing with a well-publicized diplomatic offensive. ... LBJ's decision not to run for reelection had stunned the nation. ...
The first was his father, Sam Johnson, and young LBJ absorbed his passion for politics. ... The second factor was the year LBJ spent teaching at Cotulla, Texas. ... The third influence on LBJ's life was President Franklin D. ... As a young politician LBJ looked up to and savored FDR for his leadership and ideology, and in turn FDR helped LBJ during rough times. But, it was FDR's New Deal Liberalism that LBJ savored the most. ...
I found it fascinating to watch LBJ throughout his career as a congressmen, senator, and ultimately president. And although the book is titled LBJ and American Liberalism I felt a more appropriate title would have been American Liberalism and LBJ. ... I believe historical figures such as LBJ and other past presidents are sometimes given little credit for their rise to power. LBJ throughout his career played the political game marvelously and demonstrated great leadership qualities. ... And though the book does follow LBJ's life it solely focuses upon his positive attributes and often ...
McCarthy had supported LBJ when he had entered the war but had had second thoughts about the decision afterwards and he believed that they would just negotiate a settlement for the war. ... Hubert Humphrey was the vice president during LBJ's presidency, and when LBJ announced that he would not run, Hubert Humphrey jumped right into the running and continued the same ideas from LBJ's presidency. ... He would use media to put out his ideas and such about change from LBJ's way of running the country. ... He heard about LBJ wanting to halt the bombing so that South Vietnam could j...
In the beginning of LBJ's tenure as president he continued Kennedy's work in developing programs to help society in many aspects. ... To watch over and implement The Economic Act, LBJ created a new position to report directly to him on the progress of the programs. ...
Politically LBJ was beginning to lose support for his war; scores of Americans were coming home never to see their families again. ... LBJ announced to the public that he was going to shift the main weight of Vietnam to the South Vietnamese; but this could not save his political career. ...
"Charley Owns The Night!" The "Quiet American" is set in mid-1950s colonial Vietnam. The author, a Brit, does an excellent job in setting the scene and characters. Virtually everything is appropriate to what must have been the time and place. Therein lies the diffficulty with the novel. While very...
