LBJ ANNOUNCED DECISION NOT TO RUN 47 YEARS AGO
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) Forty-seven years ago tonight, President Lyndon B. Johnson shocked his nation and the world with the announcement that he would not be candidate for re-election in 1968. President Johnson said, in the closing of his speech...
"I shall not seek and I will not accept the nomination of my party for another term as your President."
Up until that statement, LBJ discussed Vietnam. He announced a partial bombing halt of the North and said that he would be sending 13,500 additional troops.
There has been much debate over the past 47 years as to the reasons why LBJ decided not to run in 1968. One excellent source for the answers comes from James R. Jones, President Johnson's Chief of Staff in 1968.
Mr. Jones argues in an article for the New York Times in 1988 that the "fear of losing...was not the reason..." He says the real reason was VIETNAM.
"As our casualties grew, the abstract agony caused by the daily situation reports became a personal pain for the President when his own son-in-law, Charles Robb, a Marine captain, entered combat."
Many blog readers may be familiar with the photograph of LBJ sitting alone in the Cabinet Room listening in anguish to a reel-to-reel tape recorded by Captain Robb detailing the worsening conditions in Vietnam.
James Jones accompanied LBJ to the Ranch for a meeting with John B. Connally and Lady Bird in which all agreed the President should not run.
On the day of the address, Mr. Johnson presented a copy of his speech to Vice-President Hubert H. Humphrey. When the Vice-President came to the line about not seeking another term, his eyes filled with tears. LBJ said "you'd better start planning your campaign."
Mr. Humphrey replied, "There's no way I can beat the Kennedys."
Mr. Jones adds that health concerns were another major factor in LBJ's decision. He had a history of heart problems and his own father had died of a heart attack at age 64. President Johnson sincerely felt he would not live through another term.
As it turned out, LBJ died of a heart attack at his ranch in Texas at the age of 64.
*James R. Jones was born in Muskogee, OK & graduated from the University of Oklahoma & Georgetown University Law Center. He served in the US Army Reserve. After serving LBJ as Chief of Staff, JRJ returned to his law practice. Today he is a parner in the Mynatt, Phelps & Phillips law firm.
SOURCE
"Behind LBJ's Decision Not to Run in 68," by James R. Jones. New York Times, April 16, 1988, www.nytimes.com/
James R. Jones
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) Forty-seven years ago tonight, President Lyndon B. Johnson shocked his nation and the world with the announcement that he would not be candidate for re-election in 1968. President Johnson said, in the closing of his speech...
"I shall not seek and I will not accept the nomination of my party for another term as your President."
Up until that statement, LBJ discussed Vietnam. He announced a partial bombing halt of the North and said that he would be sending 13,500 additional troops.
There has been much debate over the past 47 years as to the reasons why LBJ decided not to run in 1968. One excellent source for the answers comes from James R. Jones, President Johnson's Chief of Staff in 1968.
Mr. Jones argues in an article for the New York Times in 1988 that the "fear of losing...was not the reason..." He says the real reason was VIETNAM.
"As our casualties grew, the abstract agony caused by the daily situation reports became a personal pain for the President when his own son-in-law, Charles Robb, a Marine captain, entered combat."
Many blog readers may be familiar with the photograph of LBJ sitting alone in the Cabinet Room listening in anguish to a reel-to-reel tape recorded by Captain Robb detailing the worsening conditions in Vietnam.
James Jones accompanied LBJ to the Ranch for a meeting with John B. Connally and Lady Bird in which all agreed the President should not run.
On the day of the address, Mr. Johnson presented a copy of his speech to Vice-President Hubert H. Humphrey. When the Vice-President came to the line about not seeking another term, his eyes filled with tears. LBJ said "you'd better start planning your campaign."
Mr. Humphrey replied, "There's no way I can beat the Kennedys."
Mr. Jones adds that health concerns were another major factor in LBJ's decision. He had a history of heart problems and his own father had died of a heart attack at age 64. President Johnson sincerely felt he would not live through another term.
As it turned out, LBJ died of a heart attack at his ranch in Texas at the age of 64.
*James R. Jones was born in Muskogee, OK & graduated from the University of Oklahoma & Georgetown University Law Center. He served in the US Army Reserve. After serving LBJ as Chief of Staff, JRJ returned to his law practice. Today he is a parner in the Mynatt, Phelps & Phillips law firm.
SOURCE
"Behind LBJ's Decision Not to Run in 68," by James R. Jones. New York Times, April 16, 1988, www.nytimes.com/
James R. Jones
Northeastern State University
November 29, 2010
by Kpwa gok at English Wikipedia
