Long Haired Lyndon

[LizzieMaine]

Johnson was a hard-boiled politician of the old school -- who would say or do anything to, to anyone, to pass a bill. His career in Congress gave him a reputation as a political roughneck, and he kept up that reputation during his Presidency. A lot of the old Kennedy acolytes who stayed on during the Johnson administration were both appalled by his personal crudity and astonished by his skill at achieving the results he wanted. He didn't care the least bit who he offended or annoyed as long as he got what he was pushing for -- which was both his greatest strength as a politician and his greatest weakness as a President.

Interestingly, FDR had a similar skill when it came to arm-twisting, even though he'd never served in Congress. But he was far, far, far more genteel about it.

 

[4spurs]

No, in fact I listened to it several times, marveling at his disingenuousness. Are you naive enough to think that the act passed without a lot of arm twisting and record amounts of pork, and even then with much reluctance of the members.

That's right, he twisted a lot of arms, passed out the pork, and did whatever he had to to get the voting rights act passed; and you have a problem with that?

 

[WideBrimm]

He was famous for having staff come in and debrief him well he was using the toilet. He was a bit of a snob, he loved being pampered and was famous for being easily angered when his staff didn't live up to his expectations. According to the History Channel anyways, so who knows how true it is .

Gosh! I didn't know that LBJ took after King Louis XIV :eeek:

While he was President everybody had strong opinions about LBJ and it will be a long time before historians can objectively judge the man and his presidency.

 

[scotrace]

After reading all of Caro's books on LBJ, it's hard to find him anything but a skunk.

(Johnson, not Caro)

 

[John in Covina]

There is a hard fact that he was not well liked by many.

 

[FedoraFan112390]

See the man difference between FDR and Johnson is...Whether (in the 1930s) you utterly disagreed with FDR's policies, you still liked or admired the MAN--FDR. LBJ was both disliked for his policies by those who disagreed with them, and disliked personally for his treatment of others. It was a similar case with Nixon. Really, FDR is probably the last President--love him or hate him--who garnered support and respect as a leader from both sides of the aisle. You could completely disagree with his politics, his policies, his viewpoints--but the man was so damn charming you liked him.

Same with JFK in a sense. I actually think the Golden Era ends with JFK'S death. I know many here feel it ends in the 40s or 50s, but I feel for all intents and purposes that it ended on 11/22/1963. The last, weak gasp of the Golden Era, IMO, was the 1964-1965 NY World's Fair--and that was just the dying sigh of a shattered period, a last moment of innocence before the SIXTIES really began.

 

[LizzieMaine]

*Most* people in the 1930s loved (if the 1936 election is any indication) FDR, but there was a small hard-core group who utterly loathed him -- the people who condemned him as a "traitor to his class," formulated elaborate conspiracy theories about him, and who attacked him, his wife, and his family, in every possible forum in every possible way. A sitting justice of the Supreme Court -- James McReynolds, to be specific -- went so far as to denounce him as a "crippled S. O. B."

There are strong parallels to this hatred and the hatred received by Johnson, especially around the time the Voting Rights Act was passed. Many of the same filthy anti-FDR jokes were revived in the mid-sixties, changed just enough that they could be made to fit Johnson.

 

[Tiller]

Gosh! I didn't know that LBJ took after King Louis XIV :eeek:

Everything I've heard about the man says he had an aristocratic personality, and if Louis XIV could get over his station in birth I'm sure they would have gotten along quite well. LBJ loved power, and loved the trappings of it even more.

I certain ways he was the opposite of Jimmy Carter. Carter fired the White House barber, and eliminated many other "excessive" jobs of the White House. Carter enjoyed presenting himself as just an average guy.

Johnson enjoyed being the man in charge and loved the power. He acted the role and was a crass man. Unlike politicians such as FDR, JFK, Reagan, Clinton, and others who where known as being charming to those around them, LBJ was more hierarchical and used his position to get exactly what he wanted. The staff was there to do what HE wanted done, and heaven help you if you didn't do it how he wanted it, because Harry Truman couldn't keep up with an angry LBJ.

In many ways LBJ and Nixon had a lot in common. They were both born outside of the upper class, both fought their way to the top in politics, both acted like they lived under the shadow of JFK, and behind closed doors both swore and said things that would have bothered a lot of people well acting in a questionable manner when it came to how they treated people. Add it all up and I'm glad I was born in the 80's and missed the 60's and 70's lol.

 

[Lincsong]

The only redemming trait of LBJ was that he referred to Bobby Kennedy as "the little SH*&".

 

[1961MJS]

After reading all of Caro's books on LBJ, it's hard to find him anything but a skunk.

(Johnson, not Caro)

Hi

According to Caro, no one in Texas has EVER been elected in a fair election. He made it sound like a elections were a matter of organization (mainly organizing those who count the votes), not of ideas or principles. However, I look nothing like LBJ, but I still probably won't wear an Open Road style because he did.

I like this part too: "the only redemming trait of LBJ was that he referred to Bobby Kennedy as "the little SH*&". "

Later

 

[John in Covina]

There is a great deal of difference in the views of those times that makes for difficulties in comparisons.

Over time there were shifts as to how the private lives of politicians and famous people were treated by the press and other media.