"4+ WEEKS TO DO WHAT JFK HAS HAD 3 YEARS TO DO"

LBJ LATE TO ENTER RACE BUT WILL SPRINT TO FINISH

Los Angeles, California (JFK+50) The Citizens for Johnson headquarters at the Hotel Ambassador here in Los Angeles, writes Mary McGrory*, is attempting to do in four and a half weeks what Senator John F. Kennedy has been doing for three years.

That is, getting delegate support for Senator Lyndon B. Johnson's late bid for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States in 1960.

McGrory says the Johnson supporters, led by executive director John B. Connally, Jr., are focusing not on the "little people" but the votes of individual delegates.

Despite Senator Kennedy's seven primary victories, the Johnson people do not believe he has the nomination sewn up.

*Mary McGrory (1918-2004) was born in Boston, Massachusetts & educated at Emmanuel College.  MM wrote over 8000 columns & opposed the Vietnam War.  She was on Nixon's enemies list & won the Pulitzer Prize for commentary.

SOURCE

"Johnson in 4 Week Sprint," by Mary McGrory, The Evening Star, Washington, D.C., June 8, 1960, Chronicling America, Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/ 

 

 

Mary McGrory

Fair Use

"ON A DULL, GRAY DRIPPING DAY"

JFK RETURNS TO CAPITAL IN DEATH AS LBJ RALLIES GOVERNMENT

Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On November 24, 1963, Associated Press reports John F. Kennedy returned to the Nation's Capital "in death" on "a dull, gray dripping day."

The new president, Lyndon B. Johnson, "swung gravely and swiftly into the task of rallying a national government."

Monday, November 25, 1963 has been proclaimed "a day of national mourning" as the 35th POTUS will be laid to rest.

LBJ said in the proclamation...

"I invite the people of the world who share our grief to join us."

SOURCE

"New President Takes Over Government Tasks As Nation Mourns Dead Leader," by Douglas B. Cornell, The Key West Citizen, November 24, 1963, Chronicling America, Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/

Day of Remembrance

for John F. Kennedy

The White House 

11-22-2013

www.flickr.com/

"THIS IS A SAD TIME FOR ALL PEOPLE"

BODY OF PRESIDENT KENNEDY LIES IN EAST ROOM AS LBJ RUNS THE GOVERNMENT

Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On Saturday, November 23, 1963, President Lyndon B. Johnson ran the government of the United States "from his old Vice-Presidential office across from the White House."

The body of his predecessor, John F. Kennedy, lay in repose in the East Room of the Executive Mansion.

Mr. Kennedy, the youngest elected POTUS, was felled by assassin's bullets yesterday afternoon in Dallas, Texas as he rode in an open car through the city streets.

LBJ was sworn-in as president on Air Force One at Love Field in Dallas.  After arriving at Andrews AFB, he said...

"This is a sad time for all people.  I know the world shares the sorrow that Mrs. Kennedy and her family bear.  I will do my best.  I ask for your help, and God's."

SOURCE

"President Johnson Takes Over, Kennedy Lies in White House," by Garnett D. Horner, The Evening Star, Washington, D.C., November 23, 1963, Chronicling America, Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/

LBJ Takes Oath of Office

Air Force One

Dallas, Texas

Nov 22 1963

jfk library

www.picryl.com/

"FOR REPUBLICANS, A MONUMENTAL ELECTION DISASTER"

LBJ ELECTED IN LANDSLIDE OVER GOLDWATER

Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On November 3, 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson was elected in a historic landslide over his Republican opponent Senator Barry M. Goldwater.

LBJ, who had assumed the presidency upon the death of President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963, won the Electoral College 486-52.

LBJ carried 44 states and the District of Columbia while Goldwater carried 6 states including his home state of Arizona.

The popular vote margin of 16 million votes "was unprecedented."

The Election of 1964 went down in history alongside the landslide elections of 1936 (FDR), 1920 (Harding), and 1904 (TR).

According to professor Kent Germany, "For Republicans it was an election disaster of monumental proportions."

JFK NOTE

LBJ benefited from the martyrdom of JFK, "Let us continue," and the split in the Republican Party between the eastern establishment GOP & conservative insurgents, represented by Goldwater, from the South & West.

SOURCES

"Electoral Myth and Reality:  The 1964 Election," Cambridge University Press, September 2, 2013, www.cambridge.org/

"Lyndon B. Johnson:  Campaign and Elections," by Kent Germany, UVA Miller Center, www.millercenter.org/ 

 

 

 President Lyndon B. Johnson

Photo by Arnold Newman

White House Press Office

December 1963 

"I WILL NOT ACCEPT THE NOMINATION OF MY PARTY"

LBJ ANNOUNCES HE WILL NOT SEEK A SECOND TERM

Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On March 31, 1968, President Lyndon B. Johnson announced his intention not to seek a second term.  At the end of the nationally televised address, the President said...

"I shall not seek and I will not accept the nomination of my party for another term as your president."

Earlier in the speech, Mr. Johnson discussed the situation in Vietnam.  He announced a partial bombing halt of the North and said he would send 13,500 American troops to Southeast Asia. 

Vaughn Davis Bornet argues that LBJ and Lady Bird decided as early as September 1964 that he was running in his last campaign because of his "poor health."

SOURCE

"The Real Reason LBJ Didn't Run for Re-Election in 1968," by Vaughn Davis Bornet, July 23, 2017, History News Network, www.historynewsnetwork.org/ 

 

 

LBJ & Johnson Family

Dec 24 1968

Photo by Frank Wolfe

LBJ Library Image 

SAM JOHNSON SR. PREDICTS LBJ WILL BE A SENATOR

LYNDON B. JOHNSON BORN IN STONEWALL, TEXAS

Stonewall, Texas (JFK+50) On August 27, 1908, future 36th President of the United States, Lyndon Baines Johnson, was born here in Stonewall.
Lyndon was the first child of Samuel Ealy Johnson, Jr. and Rebekah Baines Johnson.  Samuel Johnson was a farmer and teacher and also served in the Texas House of Representatives.  Rebekah had also been a schoolteacher.

LBJ's grandfather, Samuel Ealy Johnson, Sr., predicted on the day his grandson was born that Lyndon would one day be a United States Senator.

When he was 5 years old, the family moved to nearby Johnson City, the town named after his grandfather.  After high school, he attended SW Texas State Teachers College located in San Marcos.

Before graduation, LBJ taught in Cortulla, Texas for a year and after graduation was a public speaking and debate teacher at Sam Houston High School in Houston, Texas. 

*Lyndon B. Johnson (1908-1973) graduated from Southwest Texas State Teachers College in 1930.  He served as a congressional secretary before being appointed director of the National Youth Administration by FDR in 1935.

LBJ was elected to Congress in 1937 and the US Senate in 1948.  He was Senate Majority leader from 1955-1961, Vice-President 1961-1963 and POTUS 1963-1969.

LBJ at Home in Stonewall, Texas

LBJ Library Photo (1915)

"DON'T WORRY JACK, IN 2 WEEKS THEY'LL SAY IT'S THE SMARTEST THING YOU EVER DID."

LBJ GETS NOD FOR RUNNING-MATE

Los Angeles,  (JFK50) On the evening of July 14, 1960, Lyndon Baines Johnson of Texas, majority leader in the United States Senate, was nominated by the Democratic National Convention for the office of Vice-President of the United States.

Senator John F. Kennedy, who had been nominated as the Democratic presidential candidate the previous night, surprised many people, including members of his own staff, by offering the VP nomination to Senator Johnson.

JFK's personal secretary, Evelyn Lincoln, would write that shortly after JFK had received the presidential nomination, the Senator gave her the following message to deliver to Senator Johnson..."Dear Lyndon...I would like to talk to you in your room tomorrow morning at 10:00..."

Mrs. Lincoln adds, however, that there had "never (been) any talk in the office that Mr. Johnson was to be the running mate."  It is her view that JFK 's meeting with LBJ was not to offer him a place on the ticket, but "to gracefully shake Johnson's hand....and to discuss with him the southern leaders' meeting scheduled for later that day."

Mrs. Lincoln writes that JFK was forced to offer the Vice-Presidency to LBJ only after "news leaks" suggested that he would.  She added that Mr. Kennedy did not expect Lyndon to accept the offer.

When JFK returned from the meeting, he told his secretary that LBJ had not rejected the offer, but had expressed an interest in it.  By 4 p.m., Senator Kennedy made the announcement that Lyndon B. Johnson would be his running mate.

In his book "Jack Kennedy, Elusive Hero," Chris Matthews relates that JFK's decision to offer a place on the ticket to LBJ "was a model of cold-blooded politics."  A Massachusetts Democrat could not win the presidency without

the support of the "once reliable Democratic South."  LBJ's presence on the ticket would definitely give JFK a better chance to carry Texas.

According to Mr. Matthews, House Speaker Sam Rayburn passed along the word to the Kennedy people that if a spot on the ticket was offered, LBJ would not turn it down.  It wasn't really that simple. JFK later told Pierre Salinger...

 "I don't think anybody will ever really know how this all came about."

It has been well publicized that despite criticism in some quarters of LBJ's selection, JFK's father liked the idea.  Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr. told his son...

"Don't worry, Jack, in 2 weeks they'll say it's the smartest thing you ever did."

SOURCES

"Jack Kennedy, Elusive Hero," by Chris Matthews, Simon and Schuster, New York, 2011.

"Kennedy & Johnson," by Evelyn Lincoln, Holt, Rinehart & Winston, New York, 1968.

JFK and LBJ at the White House

August 31, 1961

Photo by Abbie Rowe, NPS

JFK Library Photo

              

A MAN WHO HAD NOT CAMPAIGNED IN ANY OF THE PRIMARIES

BEFORE JFK DEBATED NIXON, HE TOOK ON LYNDON

Los Angeles (JFK+50) On July 12, 1960, two candidates for the Democratic nomination for POTUS, Senator John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts and Senator Lyndon B. Johnson of Texas squared off against each other in a nationally televised debate.

The hour-long debate was conducted without a moderator before the combined delegations of Massachusetts and Texas at the Biltmore Hotel ballroom.  It began at 5 p.m. local time.

Senator Johnson had challenged Senator Kennedy to the debate, held the day before the balloting, after JFK had offered to meet with any delegation that invited him.  LBJ introduced JFK who gave an opening statement lasting 10 minutes. Kennedy acknowledged that many of the Texas delegates, who outnumbered the Massachusetts delegates by a large margin, would not support his civil rights proposals.

Johnson followed with a 20 minute opening statement in which he pointed to his efforts on the floor of the United States Senate "while some men who would be president" were absent.  He, of course, was making reference to JFK being out campaigning in the primaries instead of taking care of his Senate responsibilities.

JFK closed the debate by complimenting LBJ on his work in the Senate and saying that he supported the Texas senator's decision not to enter the primaries.  JFK also expressed his hope that LBJ would continue in his role as majority leader.

After JFK won the nomination, he selected LBJ as his running mate.  A man who had not campaigned in any of the 16 primaries.

 SOURCES

"Kennedy-Johnson Debate," Our Campaigns, www.ourcampaigns.com/

"The Great Debate, JFK's legacy:  The party's over," by Kathryn Cramer Brownell and Bruce J. Schulman, November 22, 2013, www.blogs.reuters.com/

LBJ at Biltmore Hotel

 July 10, 1960

Library of Congress Photo

McCARTHY SHOCKS LBJ

JFK+50:  Volume 6, No. 1886

LBJ'S NEW HAMPSHIRE SHOWING SPELLS TROUBLE

Concord, New Hampshire (JFK+50) Forty-eight years ago today, March 12, 1968, Senator Eugene McCarthy* of Minnesota shocked President Lyndon B. Johnson, and the Nation, by his close second place finish in the Democratic Primary here in New Hampshire.

While the President won the primary with 48% of the vote, Senator McCarthy's vote came in only 6 percentage points behind.  This close election result for an incumbent POTUS indicated displeasure within the party with LBJ's policies in the war in Vietnam.

The Minnesota senator tapped into large numbers of American youth who opposed the war. Many of the Senator's male volunteers wore long hair and sported beards, but had been encouraged to "GET CLEAN FOR GENE!"

Another shocking event was to come on the last day of the month as President Johnson announced that he "would not run for another term as....president." After LBJ dropped out, Senator Robert F. Kennedy of New York announced his candidacy.

Senator Kennedy defeated Senator McCarthy in the California Democratic Primary on June 4, 1968 and was hopeful for winning the nomination at the Chicago convention.  That, of course, never happened because RFK was shot following his victory speech in Los Angeles.

*Eugene Joseph McCarthy (1916-2005) was born in Watkins, MN & graduated from St. John's University in 1935.  He earned his Master's degree in 1939. EJM worked as a civilian assistant in military intelligence during WWII.

McCarthy served in the US House of Representatives 1949-1959 & the US Senate 1959-1971.  Upset with the presidency of Jimmy Carter, EJM endorsed Ronald Reagan in 1980.  He died of complications of Parkinson's disease.

Senator Eugene McCarthy

Minnesota (D)

LADY BIRD AND THE KENNEDYS

JFK+50:  Volume 6, No. 1805

LADY BIRD TELLS OF RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE KENNEDYS 

Washington, D.C.  (JFK+50) Claudia Alta "Lady Bird" Taylor Johnson, wife of President Lyndon B. Johnson, was born 103 years ago today, December 22, 1912, in Karnack, Texas.  

Mrs. Johnson was riding in the JFK motorcade in Dallas behind the Secret Service follow-up car when shots rang out. She later stood beside the Vice-President aboard Air Force One as he was sworn-in following the death of President Kennedy.

On March 9, 1979, Mrs. Johnson gave an  oral history interview here in the Nation's Capital for the John F. Kennedy Library.

Mrs. Johnson recalled Senator Kennedy as...

 "one of the young bachelors who became the subject of a lot of (glamorous) stories because of his handsome boyish good looks and his family background."

As far as JFK's offer to join him on the ticket in 1960 in the Vice-Presidential slot, Lady Bird recalled that she preferred her husband decline.  She said that both of them had been happy in the Senate and LBJ "had always been a very free man."  She feared that as VP he would no longer have that freedom but said LBJ accepted because of "party loyalty."

Mrs. Johnson also told about her first visit to the Kennedy Compound in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts.  She said that the house was charming and  "full of pieces of much-used family furniture....and a lot of pictures of the (Kennedy) family doing things."

As far as LBJ's relationship to JFK as his VP, Lady Bird said...

"President Kennedy couldn't have been more understanding and  perceptive and active in choosing things he assigned to Lyndon to do & giving him a very free rein and back up in doing it."

And in regard to reports that the Kennedy administration was not kind to Johnson as Vice-President, Mrs. Johnson said that her husband "was never hurt, angry or disappointed" with the way he was treated by JFK but that "he did feel...some dislike on the part of some of (JFK's) staff."

Lady Bird Johnson

The White House

LBJ Library Photo

LADY BIRD JOHNSON (1912-2007) 

The future First Lady's father was a successful businessman.  The little girl's nickname was christened when her nurse said she was "as pretty as a lady bird."  Lady Bird graduated from St. Mary's Episcopal College for Women in Dallas and went on to earn two degrees from the University of Texas.

She married Lyndon B. Johnson, who was to become Senate Majority Leader, on November 17, 1934.The couple had two daughters, Lynda and Luci.

During the 1960 Presidential campaign, Lady Bird traveled 35,000 miles to 11 states and appeared in 150 events.  As First Lady she started a Capital beautification project and promoted the Highway Beautification Act.  She was also an avid supporter of the Head Start program.

Lady Bird Johnson died on July 11, 2007.  She was the 1st First Lady to die in the 21st Century.

Claudia Alta Taylor (1915)

 LBJ Library Photo

Lady Bird and LBJ

Washington, D.C. (1934)

 LBJ Library Photo

Lady Bird Johnson

LBJ Ranch

Stonewall, Texas

LBJ Library Photo 

A MAJOR TURNING POINT IN SOUTHEAST ASIA

LBJ ORDERS 50,000 TROOPS TO SOUTH VIETNAM

Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) Fifty years ago today, July 28, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson announced that he was ordering an additional 50,000 American military troops to South Vietnam.

The number of United States troops in Southeast Asia before the order was 75,000.  The increase brought the total number to 125,000.  Most members of Congress supported LBJ's decision to send more troops which has been described as a "major turning point in U.S. involvement in Southeast Asia."

LBJ and Walt Rostow 

Looking at a model of Khe Sanh

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JACQUELINE

Southampton, New York (JFK+50) Eighty-six years ago today, July 28, 1929, Mr. and Mrs. John Vernou Bouvier III announced the birth of a baby girl named Jacqueline Bouvier.

Mr. Bouvier, who was known as "Black Jack", was a Wall Street stockbroker and of both French and English descent.  Mrs. Janet Norton Lee Bouvier was of Irish descent.*

The Bouviers divorced in 1940 and Jackie's mother remarried 2 years later. Her second husband was Hugh D. Auchincloss, Jr., the heir to the Standard Oil Company fortune.

Jackie attended Vassar, the Sorbonne in France and graduated from George Washington University in 1951 with a BA in French literature.

Jackie at 6 years old

Photo by David Berne (1935)

JFK Library

AUSTRIA-HUNGARY DECLARES WAR ON SERBIA

Vienna (JFK+50) On July 28, 1914,  101 years ago today, the government of Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia one month after the Archduke Francis Ferdinand and his wife were gunned down in an open car on the streets of Sarajevo.

After receiving the backing of Germany, Austria-Hungary presented Serbia with an ultimatum to permit the investigation of the murder of the Archduke and his wife.  Austria-Hungary broke diplomatic relations with Serbia on July 25.

Coat of Arms of Austria-Hungary

1867- 1915