The New York Times: Has a interesting review of the 4th volume in the biography of LBJ by Robert Caro, the review by President Clinton is favourable of both Caro and LBJ.
Lets Get Real:
It might surprise readers of this blog but this blog has a soft spot for LBJ, a master politician to his soul, some doubted he had one! What makes LBJ interesting is he was a uber liberal, in the period that needed a uber liberal in the White House. The Great Society and War on Poverty was needed to help those Americans that the system had failed. The US economy was booming thus the liberal polices of LBJ could be funded. The major black mark on LBJ is Vietnam, it was not his War, the escalation in Southern Vietnam had started under President Kennedy, and in the time of the LBJ escalation it was supported by a majority of Americans and the US Congress. The flaw in LBJ’s thinking was the fact that he thought he could deal with the leadership of North Vietnam, that was a mistake, they knew they could wait out LBJ, the Tet offensive of 1968 finished the idea in the minds of Americans that they were winning in the Southern Vietnam, although the Viet Cong had been defeated that impression lasted that the US could not win. In 1968 Nixon won, in essence liberals had to wait for Presidnet Obama for another uber liberal in the White House. The question is will 2012 be 1964, when LBJ won big, or 1968 when Nixon won a narrow win of the Democratic Candidate. The sad fact today folks is the fact that no Democrat runs wanting to be the next LBJ, it can be argued that LBJ the politician has been shunned for to long by the Democrats.
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