Johnson the Colossus
The list goes on and on into the deep blue sea. President Johnson wanted to be everything to everybody. His dreams were short lived. PBS Video on The Presidents "LBJ" tells all from his roots at Johnson City ( a place I have visited in 1966 to) to the bombing of Hanoi. I once wrote Senator Chuck Robb seeking insights on the old man. Then I asked Kearns Goodwin to describe LBJ. She responded 'formidable."
LBJ wielded is Executive Powers like a butcher's meat cleaver. Maybe too much for too many Americans. Johnson passed laws on everything, maybe for some to boomerang back to his face.
Remember the Credibility Gap? Liar, liar, your pants are on fire.
Johnson was a "needed president." He constantly shoveled against his tide. America was at war with America... and the Communists. Food Stamps came into law as Medicare. Key areas of legislation survive today:
- Civil Rights
- Education
- The Environment
- Head Start
- Jobs Corps
- Medicare
- National Endowment for the Arts and Humanaity
war on Poverty
Johnson's life and mind were so complex. Listen to LBJ Types for insignts. LBJ was truly THE inspiration of my younger political life.He truly "Out-Kennedied Kennedy!"
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