It's been a long time since I've thought of the presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson and how his goal of creating a Great Society was tragically hijacked by the escalation of the Vietnam War. After all his presidency ended in January, 1969. That's 42 long years ago, interestingly enough about the same length of time that Col Muammar al-Gaddafi has held power in Libya. Only four years later,in January 1973, Johnson suffered a heart attack and died at the relatively young age of 64.
My review of Johnson's life occurred as I tuned into the American Experience four part series of TV programs that ran from 9 p.m. until midnight last night on PBS, which has recently been airing documentaries of American presidents that are highly interesting, at least to those interested in American history.
From a legislative viewpoint Lyndon Johnson was probably the best prepared to be an American president of any in history. He went to Washington, D.C., in 1931 as the legislative assistant to a new Texas congressmen. In 1937 he won a seat in the House. He represented his district in the House for almost 12 years, taking six months off from his legislative duties in 1941–42 to serve as lieutenant commander in the navy. In 1948, he won the Democratic Senatorial primary by a margin of victory of 87 votes out of 988,000 votes cast. There were allegations that some of Johnson's Texas friends tampered with the vote a bit to ensure his victory.
Lyndon Baines Johnson Was a West Texas Bred Wheeler Dealer
Johnson served in the Senate for 12 years. In 1955 at age 46 he became the youngest majority leader in the Senate's history. During his time in the Senate Johnson achieved a legendary reputation as being a masterful effective wheeler dealer and in getting legislation that he favored passed. Johnson reportedly kept extensive biographic information on each senator and knew exactly what hot buttons to press to get his way. He knew full well that the Senate at that time was truly an "old boys club" and that to gain support for legislation required that something of value be given back. Johnson developed a reputation for being ruthless or charming depending upon what was necessary to receive pledges for favorable votes. It was difficult to say no to him.
Lyndon Johnson as Vice President Hated the Job
After losing the Democratic Party's nomination for president to a young John F. Kennedy, Johnson surprised many political pundits by accepting Kennedy's offer to serve as the vice-president. Reportedly, Johnson hated the job. He was surrounded by highly educated Eastern establishment types, many of them with degrees from Harvard or other Ivy League colleges, and Johnson apparently felt inferior with his degree from Southwest Texas State Teachers College at San Marcos, Texas. Johnson was thought to be crude and to be especially disliked by Robert Kennedy, the President's younger brother. He thought that being frequently asked to travel abroad to promote American values and to tour remote areas were only fabricated trips designed to give him something to do far away from Washington.
President Johnson Caused a Strong Civil Rights Bill to be Passed
Johnson tragically became the 36th President of the United States immediately after President Jack Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1973. Five days later President Johnson addressed a joint session of Congress and stated that the greatest tribute to Kennedy would be to pass his legislative agenda which included Kennedy's civil rights bill. In February 1964 the house passed a bill that Johnson had made much stronger than the original Kennedy proposal.
After an epic 83-day filibuster in June, 1974, the civil rights bill was passed by the Senate. This set the stage for Johnson to promote legislation that would usher in his vision of the Great Society, a society that would take much better care of the poor and disenfranchised citizens of all colors. At the time there were an estimated 33-million Americans living below the poverty line.
Johnson had inherited from President Kennedy what was still a fairly low intensity war in Vietnam. In August 1964 there was the Gulf of Tonkin incident in which North Vietnamese patrol gunboats allegedly attacked U.S. Navy destroyers. Johnson then ordered retaliatory U.S. aircraft carrier based bombing raids on North Vietnam. This began an escalation which peaked in 1968 when approximately 550,000 U.S. troops were engaged in the war.
Escalation of the Vietnam War Eventually High-Jacked the Johnson Presidency
The continued escalation of the war with no victory in sight had a visibly depressing effect upon PresidentJohnson. By the end of 1967 American casualties had reached about 500 per week and public support for the war was seriously declining. The Vietnamese Tet offensive of early 1968 alerted most Americans, including elected officials, military officers and the general public, that the war was not winnable. Even though North Vietnamese forces suffered heavy losses during Tet, TV images of the U.S. Embassy in Saigon coming under attack, as well as heavy fighting in many Vietnamese cities that had been thought to be under U.S. control, had a profound negative influence on public opinion. President Johnson was devastated by the news and shocked everyone when he announced on national TV on March 31,1968 that he would not seek reelection.
Hopefully, President Barack Obama has viewed the Johnson biography TV program. While there are many differences between America's experience in Vietnam and current experience in Afghanistan there are also some alarming similarities. The Vietnam War diverted billions of dollars from Johnson's dream of creating a Great Society and drastically damaged the effectiveness of programs that were initially making progress toward combating poverty. In addition, Johnson's efforts to fund both butter and guns sowed the seeds of inflation that would mature to ravage the nation during the early 1970s.
War in Afghanistan Has Potential to Drag President Obama Down
According to an article on ForeignPolicy.Com titled "Grover Norquist calls for discussion on right about leaving Afghanistan" by Josh Rogin, the war in Afghanistan is now costing approximately $100 billion per year. This enormous cost comes at a time when the United States is deeply mired in debt and is suffering massive budget deficits. Even according to president Obama's latest optimistic estimates the deficits will extend for at least another 10 years. As in Vietnam the U.S. is fighting non-conventional asymmetrical warfare combatants who are fighting on their own home ground. The United States has a logistical nightmare on its hands as it attempts to supply our troops in landlocked Afghanistan with the extensive amount of materials that America's war machine demands.
In my opinion, the war in Afghanistan is no more winnable than the war in Vietnam. Just as the Vietnam War hijacked Johnson presidency and destroyed his dream of creating a Great Society, President Obama faces the hijacking of his presidency and his legislative goals by the War in Afghanistan. Just as President Johnson initially received bad advice about the conduct of the Vietnam War by his "council of wise men" Obama is receiving bad advice from the many Clintonistas and generals who continue to favor escalation and persistence in fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan.
After the 1968 Tet offensive thoroughly caused most Americans to rethink the prospects for winning the Vietnam War, Johnson's "council of wise men" also decided that the war could not be won militarily. President Johnson was devastated by this new opinion and shortly thereafter announced that he would not seek reelection. In my opinion, President Obama needs to start taking concrete steps to disengage from the Afghanistan War or his presidency will be similarly hijacked and his chances for reelection in 2012 seriously reduced.
While for now, President Obama's reelection prospects depend primarily upon the economy, a successful Tet-like offensive by the Taliban in Afghanistan would quickly bring the war back into focus and become a huge negative to carry into an election. By escalating the Afghanistan war, President Obama has made it Obama's war, just as President Johnson escalated the war in Vietnam and turned it into his war, one that hijacked the Johnson presidency.
Sources
- Lyndon B. Johnson Biography
- www.biography.com
- www.biography.com
- Office of Management and Budget
- www.whitehouse.gov
Gerald Greene - Technology may save the world but it is a hard task master. It takes increasing amounts of work to keep up with the latest and greatest.
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