The 36th U.S. President

 

Lyndon Baines Johnson

Born: August 27, 1908

Died: January 22, 1973

Term in Office: 1963-1969

LBJ was the 36th U.S. President, a vice-president who was sworn into office on the day that JFK was assassinated. Before that day, my 9-year-old self had never heard of this guy. After that day, every time Johnson gave a speech on TV, my father would cringe at the sound of the slow Texas drawl that was part and parcel of this man.

There are a lot of folks who vilify this man as a sort of war criminal, laying all the blame for the Vietnam War at his feet. While the numbers of young Americans who were sent over to Southeast Asia climbed during Johnson's administration, our involvement there started in the 50s and intensified during JFK's time in office. Yes, Johnson did not want to be regarded as the first president to lose a conflict, and his listening to his generals' optimism in regard to victory was ill-advised. Young Americans (58,000 of whom gave their lives), bombs, and napalm could not shake the will of the North Vietnamese, and Johnson was slow to learn that. 

When newsman Walter Cronkite gave his opinion that the war was unwinnable, LBJ was heard saying words to the effect that if he had lost Cronkite's support, he had lost the support of the American people. He did not run for a second full term (he did win his first actual election to the office in 1964).

His time in office is really a tragedy. Though his heart was in his domestic policies (his catch-all label for his ambitious programs was The Great Society, and it brought us HeadStart, Medicare, and Medicaid), the debacle that was the Vietnam War has largely overshadowed those accomplishments, and Johnson's name will be forever tied to that conflict.

Oh, and he had a lot of beagles, the most famous ones being Him and Her. Johnson received some criticism for lifting Him by the ears on the White House lawn when greeting reporters one day. Both of these dogs died while Johnson was president. Her swallowed a stone, and Him was hit by a car on the White House grounds.

Like I said, LBJ's time in office was tragic.

Peace to all, and watch (or wash) those ears.  

Thanks to www.millercenter.org, which served as a resource for this post.