American Experience (1988) s04e02 Episode Script

1
(piano music playing)
McCullough:
HE PROMISED AN AMERICA
WITHOUT POVERTY,
WHERE THE YOUNG
WOULD BE EDUCATED,
THE OLD WOULD BE CARED FOR,
WHERE BLACK AMERICANS
WOULD BE EQUAL CITIZENS.
ON THE NIGHT OF
HIS INAUGURAL GALA,
ALL HIS DREAMS SEEMED
WITHIN HIS GRASP.
DARK TALES WERE STILL RUMORED
ABOUT HIS RISE TO POWER
BUT WITHIN 100 DAYS,
LYNDON JOHNSON WOULD BE COMPARED
TO FRANKLIN ROOSEVEL
AND ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
OTHER PRESIDENTS HAD CALLED
THE WHITE HOUSE A PRISON.
JOHNSON SAID,
"I NEVER FELT FREER."
(cheers)
LYNDON JOHNSON FILLED THE AIR.
THIS WAS HIS TOWN.
Man:
SOMETIMES I WOULD BE WITH HIM,
AND I'D HAVE THE FEELING
THAT I'D BEEN WITH
A GREAT HURTLING LOCOMOTIVE
RUNNING DOWN THE TRACK.
Man:
HE WAS KIND, HE WAS CRUEL,
HE WAS A SON OF A BITCH
AND YET HE COULD BE AWFULLY
DECENT AND GENEROUS
YOU KNOW, EVERYTHING.
A VERY STRANGE PERSON,
BECAUSE HE HAD IT ALL.
I THINK HE WOULD HAVE BEEN
CONSIDERED A GREAT PRESIDEN
IF HE HADN'T GOTTEN INVOLVED
IN VIETNAM.
Man:
THE TRAGEDY OF THE WAR WAS
THAT IT DESTROYED EVERYTHING
THAT JOHNSON HAD DREAMED OF.
MY FELLOW AMERICANS
I ACCEPT YOUR NOMINATION.
(cheering, applause)
McCullough:
THE 1964 CAMPAIGN HAD BEEN
AN ABSOLUTE TRIUMPH.
JOHNSON HAD BEEN EXHILARATED
BY THE ENTHUSIASTIC CROWDS.
Johnson:
I WANT FOR EVERY FAMILY
WHAT MY MOTHER WANTED FOR ME:
THE CHANCE FOR AN HONEST LIVING,
AN HONORABLE JOB,
A DECENT FUTURE.
McCullough:
HE HAD GALVANIZED THE NATION
WITH HIS APPEAL
FOR RACIAL JUSTICE
AND HIS VISION
OF A GREAT SOCIETY.
AT THE SAME TIME,
HE HAD PROMISED
NOT TO SEND AMERICAN TROOPS
TO FIGHT IN VIETNAM.
Johnson:
I HAVE HAD ADVICE
TO LOAD OUR PLANES WITH BOMBS
AND TO DROP THEM
ON CERTAIN AREAS
THAT I THINK WOULD
ENLARGE THE WAR
AND ESCALATE THE WAR
AND RESULT IN OUR COMMITTING
A GOOD MANY AMERICAN BOYS
TO FIGHTING A WAR
THAT I THINK OUGHT TO BE FOUGH
BY THE BOYS OF ASIA
TO HELP PROTECT THEIR OWN LAND.
McCullough:
BUT IN VIETNAM,
THE FIGHTING WENT ON.
EVEN WITH AMERICAN ADVISORS
THE SOUTH VIETNAMESE ARMY
COULDN'T WIN THE WAR THEMSELVES.
JOHNSON KNEW THEY
WOULD NEED MORE HELP.
"IT'S GOING TO HELL
IN A HAND BASKET OUT THERE,"
JOHNSON HAD TOLD AN AIDE.
"THE ARMY WON'T FIGHT;
THE PEOPLE DON'T KNOW
WHOSE SIDE TO BE ON."
FOR MONTHS, HIS ADVISORS
WERE WARNING HIM
THAT IF HE DIDN'T ACT,
SOUTH VIETNAM WOULD FALL.
JOHNSON'S VISION FOR AMERICA
WAS ABOUT TO CONVERGE
WITH A LAND WAR IN ASIA.
ON ELECTION DAY, I REPRESENTED
THE DEFENSE DEPARTMEN
IN AN INTERAGENCY MEETING
AT THE STATE DEPARTMEN
UNDER WILLIAM BUNDY,
CONSIDERING, ESSENTIALLY,
ALTERNATIVE BOMBING PROGRAMS
AGAINST NORTH VIETNAM.
WE DIDN'T WAIT TILL
THE DAY AFTER ELECTION
BECAUSE VIETNAM COULDN'T WAIT.
WE JUST BARELY MADE IT TO THE
ELECTION WITHOUT BOMBING.
McCullough:
"WE DON'T WANT TO GET TIED DOWN
IN A LAND WAR,"
JOHNSON TOLD AN AIDE.
THE PRESIDENT'S ADVISORS
GAVE HIM THREE CHOICES.
Man:
ONE WAS TO GO
ON AS WE WERE DOING
ACCEPTING THAT I
MIGHT READILY BE
THAT THAT SIMPLY WOULDN'
DO THE TRICK.
THEN WE HAD TWO OPTIONS
THAT WERE
IN EFFECT DIFFERED IN
THEIR PACE, IN THEIR SEVERITY:
OPTION "B", WHICH WOULD
HAVE BOMBED VERY HEAVILY,
OR FAIRLY HEAVILY,
AND OPTION "C", WHICH WAS A
MORE GRADUATED BOMBING PROGRAM.
WE DIDN'T REALLY CONSIDER
NOT BOMBING NORTH VIETNAM.
THAT POSSIBILITY WAS MENTIONED,
BUT ONLY AS A STRAW MAN
THERE LIES DEFEAT;
NO ONE IS FOR THAT.
JOHNSON'S ADVISORS WANTED TO
GET US MOVING ON THE BOMBING.
THE PRESIDENT WAS
DIGGING IN HIS FEET ON THAT.
HE HAD TO BE CONVINCED
THAT THAT WAS WORTHWHILE.
IT GAVE ME A VERY GOOD
IMPRESSION OF JOHNSON.
I HAD, IN FACT, THE THOUGHT THA
HE WAS THE ONLY SANE MAN
AT THAT LEVEL OF THE GOVERNMENT;
THAT HE WAS ASKING
THE RIGHT QUESTIONS.
(jet engine roars)
McCullough:
ON FEBRUARY 6, 1965,
JOHNSON ORDERED THE BOMBING
OF NORTH VIETNAM
IN RETALIATION FOR
A VIETCONG ATTACK
ON AN AMERICAN MILITARY OUTPOST.
THE OPTION HE CHOSE SEEMED
TO THE PRESIDENT, I'M SURE,
TO BE THE OPTION OF RESTRAINT.
(explosion)
RATHER THAN BE COWARDLY, RATHER
THAN BE A TERRIBLE RISK TAKER,
HE WOULD APPLY
GRADUATED PRESSURES.
Valenti:
WELL, IT'S LIKE THE FIRST OLIVE
OUT OF A BOTTLE.
ONCE THAT HAPPENS, THE OTHER
OLIVES ARE EASIER TO GET OUT.
SO ONCE YOU STARTED BOMBING,
THEN IT BECAME A NORMALITY;
(explosion)
ALWAYS "A LITTLE BIT MORE,
A LITTLE BIT MORE
AND WE CAN GET THIS WAR
BEHIND US."
McCullough:
IN MARCH JOHNSON ORDERED
CONTINUOUS
AND MASSIVE AIR ASSAULTS
AGAINST NORTH VIETNAM
OPERATION "ROLLING THUNDER."
(explosions)
"I KNEW," HE LATER WROTE, "THA
WE WERE AT A TURNING POINT."
EACH STEP WAS MAKING I
MORE AND MORE DIFFICUL
FOR JOHNSON TO TURN BACK.
Thomson:
I THINK PRESIDENT JOHNSON HAD
A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY
TO GET US OUT OF VIETNAM
AFTER THE ELECTION OF 1964.
JOHNSON HAD WON OVERWHELMINGLY;
HE HAD PROMISED NOT TO SEND
AMERICAN BOYS TO DIE THERE;
HE HAD THE MANDATE
AND HE HAD FOUR YEARS TO DO IT.
BUT HE DIDN'T HAVE THE COURAGE
AND HE DIDN'T HAVE
THE CONFIDENCE
AND HE DIDN'T HAVE THE ADVICE.
McCullough:
FOR EVERY DECISION,
JOHNSON HAD HAD THE COUNSEL
OF THE BEST AND BRIGHTES
IN AMERICA
MEN LIKE ROBERT McNAMARA
AND DEAN RUSK,
HOLDOVERS FROM THE KENNEDY ERA;
"HARVARDS," JOHNSON CALLED THEM.
HE WAS THE GRADUATE
OF SOUTHWEST TEXAS STATE
TEACHER'S COLLEGE.
Janeway:
HE LABORED HIS LIFE LONG
UNDER THE ILLUSION
THAT HE WAS BRANDED FOR LIFE
BECAUSE HE HAD
NO FORMAL EDUCATION.
THEY HAD GONE TO HARVARD,
AND ON TO GRADUATE SCHOOLS
AND HERE WAS HE, AND I DON'
THINK HE EVER FINISHED READING
A POPULAR PAMPHLE
PAST PAGE ONE.
Ball:
I'M SURE THE FACT THAT HE WAS
GETTING THIS INFORMATION
FROM PEOPLE WITH
SUCH ELEGANT EDUCATIONS
WAS A GREAT COMFORT TO HIM.
IT JUSTIFIED HIS OWN DECISIONS.
(explosion)
McCullough:
THE PRESIDENT HOPED THE BOMBING
WOULD FORCE NORTH VIETNAM
TO THE BARGAINING TABLE.
JOHNSON HAD NO LOVE FOR WHA
HE CALLED "THAT BITCH OF A WAR."
"THE WOMAN I REALLY LOVED,"
HE SAID,
"WAS THE GREAT SOCIETY."
Newsreel announcer:
MR. JOHNSON PROPOSES
AN EDUCATION PROGRAM
THAT WILL ENSURE EVERY AMERICAN
FULL DEVELOPMENT OF
HIS MIND AND SKILLS.
HE SAYS THE BEAUTY OF AMERICA
MUST BE PRESERVED
AS A GREEN LEGACY, WITH WATER
AND AIR POLLUTION ENDED.
BEAUTY OF MIND, TOO,
MUST BE PROMOTED.
CITIES SHOULD BE
IMAGINATIVELY IMPROVED
AND A BROAD HEALTH PROGRAM
MUST ENSURE MEDICAL CARE
FOR THE AGED AND NEEDY.
McCullough:
IT WAS A LEGISLATIVE AVALANCHE.
NO PRESIDENT HAD EVER PU
SO MANY BILLS BEFORE CONGRESS.
HISTORY WILL PROVE
THAT HE WAS PROBABLY THE
MOST EFFECTIVE PRESIDEN
WE'VE EVER HAD
IN THE WHITE HOUSE.
WHETHER YOU LIKED HIM
OR WHETHER YOU APPROVED
OF HIS TACTICS OR WHAT WAS
ACTUALLY PASSED,
AS FAR AS GETTING THINGS DONE
JOHNSON COULD DO IT BETTER
THAN ANYBODY.
Reedy:
WHEN HE BECAME PRESIDEN
HE DECIDED THAT HE HAD TO
GET EVERYTHING DONE AT ONCE
BECAUSE HE HAD CHECKED BACK.
HE DISCOVERED THAT ALL
THE THINGS PRESIDENTS DID
THEY DID DURING
THE FIRST COUPLE OF YEARS
AND SO HE BEGAN
TO PUMP THINGS OUT FRANTICALLY.
Kearns Goodwin:
THERE WAS A SENSE IN WHICH LAWS
WERE BEING WRITTEN
BEFORE PEOPLE EVEN UNDERSTOOD
THE PROBLEMS
AND YOU HAD NEW AGENCIES
SPRINGING UP OVERNIGHT.
BUT I THINK JOHNSON WAS AFRAID
THAT SOMEHOW THIS CONSENSUS
WAS GOING TO GO AWAY, SO HE
BETTER GET AS MUCH DONE
AS HE COULD AND WE CAN
STRAIGHTEN THINGS OUT LATER.
McCullough:
JOHNSON PREPARED
BILL AFTER BILL:
FUNDS FOR EDUCATION
ELEMENTARY, SECONDARY
AND COLLEGE
AND FOR PRE-SCHOOL CHILDREN,
HEADSTART;
FUNDS FOR CONSERVATION,
CLEAN AIR AND CLEAN RIVERS
HIGHWAY BEAUTIFICATION,
NATIONAL PARKS;
FUNDS FOR CONSUMER PROTECTION,
TRUTH IN LABELING AND PACKAGING;
AUTOMOBILE SAFETY.
THERE WAS URBAN RENEWAL AND
HOUSING,
PUBLIC TELEVISION,
THE CREATION OF THE NATIONAL
ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES
AND THE ARTS.
THE LIST GOES ON AND ON.
Johnson:
AND YOU HAVEN'T SEEN
ANYTHING YET.
Connally:
I THOUGHT HE PASSED
TOO MUCH LEGISLATION.
HE WAS PASSING THEM
ONE AFTER THE OTHER
WITHOUT ADEQUATE HEARINGS,
WITHOUT A BASIC UNDERSTANDING
OF WHAT THE ULTIMATE COSTS WERE
GOING TO BE
AND HOW THEY WERE GOING
TO BE ADMINISTERED.
Johnson:
I HAVE HAD BUT ONE OBJECTIVE:
TO BE THE PRESIDEN
OF ALL THE PEOPLE
NOT JUST THE RICH,
NOT JUST THE WELL-FED,
NOT JUST THE FORTUNATE,
BUT PRESIDENT OF ALL OF AMERICA.
(applause)
Connally:
HE WAS INORDINATELY PROUD
OF ALL THIS LEGISLATION
HE PASSED.
WELL, I MEAN, HE KEP
A SCORECARD IN HIS POCKET,
HAD A SHEET OF PAPER,
AND HE LISTED
ALL THE LEGISLATION
HE'D PASSED.
HE WAS EXTREMELY PROUD OF IT.
(applause)
Cater:
HE WANTED TO DO GOOD THINGS.
HE WANTED TO DO GREAT THINGS.
AND HE HAD GROWN UP
IN A SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT,
WHICH WAS THE AMERICAN SYSTEM
IN WHICH YOU DID THINGS
BY WHEELING AND DEALING
AND TRADING.
THIS WAS THE WAY YOU DID IT.
I'M NOT SURE THAT THE GOVERNMEN
WORKS THIS WAY ANYMORE,
BUT WHEN I WAS IN THE WHITE
HOUSE, THE PRESIDENT ASSIGNED ME
CERTAIN SENATORS AND CONGRESSMEN
"TO HANDLE."
EVERY NOW AND THEN,
EVERETT DIRKSEN WOULD CALL.
HE WAS THE REPUBLICAN LEADER.
AND HE WOULD SAY, "JACK"
HE HAD A VOICE THAT WAS LIKE
HONEY DRIPPING OVER METAL TILES
AND HE'D SAY, "JACK, I WAN
TO SEE THE BOSS LATER ON TODAY
AND MAYBE WE COULD HAVE A DRINK
AND TALK ABOUT A FEW THINGS."
I'D SAY, "YES, SIR, SENATOR.
THE PRESIDENT WILL
SEE YOU AT 6:00," I'D SAY.
"YES, THAT WOULD BE FINE."
THEN HE WOULD RISE IN THE SENATE
ABOUT 3:00 IN THE AFTERNOON
AND ACCUSE JOHNSON
OF EVERY CRIME
THAT THE MOST DEPRAVED MIND
COULD BE CAPABLE OF COMMITTING.
AT THEN AT 6:00 HE'D SHOW UP,
AND I'D GO UP WITH HIM TO THE
SECOND FLOOR OF THE MANSION,
AND WE'D SIT AND TALK AND THE
PRESIDENT WOULD SAY,
"EVERETT, I WOULDN'
TALK ABOUT A CUR DOG
THE WAY YOU DID ME
IN THE SENATE."
"WELL," HE SAID, "MR. PRESIDENT,
I VOWED TO TELL THE TRUTH
SO I HAVE NO CHOICE."
THEN THEY WOULD LAUGH
AND THEN THEY WOULD RECOUN
SOME OLD, LONG-FOUGHT BATTLES,
AND THEN, FINALLY, THE PRESIDEN
WOULD SAY,
"EVERETT, I'VE GOT TO HAVE
THREE REPUBLICAN VOTES
"AND YOU KNOW WHO THEY ARE.
"I'VE GOT TO HAVE THOSE VOTES,
EVERETT,
AND I DON'T WANT ANY BEATING
AROUND THE BUSH ABOUT IT."
AND DIRKSEN WOULD SAY, "MR.
PRESIDENT, I HAPPEN TO HAVE HERE
"SOME NAMES OF SOME
LIKELY NOMINEES
"TO THE FEDERAL POWER COMMISSION
"AND THE FEDERAL
COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
AND A FEW OTHER COMMISSIONS."
THE PRESIDENT SAID, "WELL, GIVE
THEIR NAMES TO VALENTI HERE.
WE'LL CHECK THEM OU
WITH THE F.B.I.
AND SEE IF THEY'RE FI
TO SERVE THEIR COUNTRY."
AND THEY'D HAVE ANOTHER DRINK.
AND THERE WAS NO SUMMARY
OF THE MEETING GIVEN.
EACH OF THEM KNEW THAT JOHNSON
WAS GOING TO GE
THREE REPUBLICAN VOTES AND
DIRKSEN KNEW HE WAS GOING TO GE
THREE NOMINEES TO COMMISSIONS.
I DON'T KNOW THEY TEACH THA
IN GOVERNMENT 101
IN ANY OF THE SCHOOLS,
BUT IT WORKED.
THE PRESIDENT GOT DONE
WHAT HE NEEDED TO HAVE DONE.
BUT THE TELEPHONE
WAS HIS EXCALIBUR.
IT WAS HIS SWORD.
NO CONGRESSMAN WAS TOO MUCH
OF A ROOKIE TO BE CALLED
NOR TOO POWERFUL A ONE
TO BE IMPORTUNED.
Cater:
ONE MORNING AT 5:00 A.M.,
HE WOKE UP A SENATOR
AND SAID,
"HI, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"
AND HE SAID,
"OH, NOTHING, MR. PRESIDENT,
JUST LYING HERE,
HOPING YOU'D CALL."
IF A CONGRESSMAN WASN'T HOME,
HE'D TALK TO THE WIFE.
AND IF THE WIFE WASN'T HOME,
HE'D TALK TO THE CHILDREN
AND TOLD THEM TO TELL THEIR
DADDY TO SUPPORT THE PRESIDENT.
Connally:
PART OF HIS DEMEANOR,
PART OF HIS WHOLE LIFE
WAS THAT HE FELT HE
COULD CONVERT ANYBODY,
THAT HE COULD CONVER
AN ENEMY INTO A FRIEND,
THAT HE WOULD WORK AT I
ASSIDUOUSLY TO COUR
AND TO CONVERT SOMEONE WHO
DISLIKED HIM
INTO BEING A FRIEND
AND A DISCIPLE.
AND MANY TIMES IT WORKED.
McCullough:
BUT JOHNSON COULDN'
USE THOSE SAME TACTICS
WITH HO CHI MINH.
JOHNSON THOUGHT THE WAR WOULD BE
LIKE A FILIBUSTER, AS HE SAID
ENORMOUS RESISTANCE AT FIRST,
THEN A STEADY WHITTLING AWAY
THEN HO HURRYING
TO GET IT OVER WITH.
Berman:
HO CHI MINH WAS A REVOLUTIONARY.
JOHNSON DIDN'T UNDERSTAND THAT.
HE DIDN'T UNDERSTAND
REVOLUTIONARIES.
A REVOLUTIONARY IN
THE UNITED STATES SENATE
IS VERY DIFFEREN
THAN SOMEONE LIKE HO CHI MINH.
HE DIDN'T UNDERSTAND THE HISTORY
OF THE VIETNAMESE PEOPLE,
THE VIETNAMESE CULTURE.
(explosion)
McCullough:
JOHNSON THOUGHT HE COULD FORCE
HO CHI MINH TO BARGAIN.
"I SAW OUR BOMBS
AS POLITICAL RESOURCES
FOR NEGOTIATING PEACE," HE SAID.
BUT HO COULDN'T BE PUSHED.
THEIR POSITIONS WERE
IRRECONCILABLE.
HO CALLED THE AMERICANS
INVADERS.
JOHNSON CALLED NORTH VIETNAM
THE AGGRESSOR,
WAGING WAR
ON A PEACEFUL NEIGHBOR.
JOHNSON WANTED TWO COUNTRIES,
A NORTH AND A SOUTH VIETNAM.
HO WANTED ONE.
(explosions)
HO CHI MINH AND THE COMMUNISTS
HAD NO INTENTION WHATSOEVER
OF EVER ALLOWING A PEACE TREATY
TO SEPARATE THEIR COUNTRY.
TIME WAS ON THEIR SIDE.
THEY COULD CERTAINLY
WAIT OUT LYNDON JOHNSON.
(shouting)
HE UNDERSTOOD HO CHI MINH TO BE
LIKE ANY OTHER
POLITICAL ADVERSARY
WHO HE COULD BROKER WITH,
HE COULD DEAL WITH;
THAT HO CHI MINH HAD A PRICE,
AND HE WOULD FIND THAT PRICE.
Johnson:
WELL, WHAT DO THE PEOPLE
OF NORTH VIETNAM WANT?
FOOD FOR THEIR HUNGER,
HEALTH FOR THEIR BODIES.
I WILL ASK THE CONGRESS
TO JOIN IN A BILLION-DOLLAR
AMERICAN INVESTMEN
TO REPLACE DESPAIR WITH HOPE
AND TERROR WITH PROGRESS.
(explosion)
McCullough:
JOHNSON WOULD BULLY AND BARGAIN.
ON APRIL 7, HE OFFERED HO
WHAT SOUNDED LIKE
A GREAT SOCIETY PROGRAM.
THE VAST MEKONG RIVER CAN
PROVIDE FOOD AND WATER AND POWER
ON A SCALE TO DWARF
EVEN OUR OWN T.V.A.
THE WONDERS OF MODERN MEDICINE
CAN BE SPREAD THROUGH VILLAGES
WHERE THOUSANDS DIE EVERY YEAR.
SCHOOLS CAN BE ESTABLISHED
TO TRAIN PEOPLE
Valenti:
AND I REMEMBER ONE TIME
I TRAILED HIM INTO HIS OFFICE
AND HE LEANED BACK IN HIS CHAIR
AND PUT HIS HANDS ON HIS HEAD
LIKE THIS
AND HE SAID, "OH, GOD, HOW CAN
WE GET OUT OF THIS WAR?
HE SAID, "IF I COULD SIT IN A
ROOM WITH HO CHI MINH,
TALK TO HIM, I THINK WE COULD
CUT A DEAL."
WE SHALL OVERCOME ♪
McCullough:
AT THE SAME TIME
JOHNSON WAS CHALLENGING HO,
THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMEN
WAS CONTINUING
TO CHALLENGE THE SOUTH.
DESPITE JOHNSON'S HISTORIC
CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964
THAT HAD PUT AN END TO
SEGREGATION, A WEB OF LOCAL LAWS
CONTINUED TO DENY BLACK
AMERICANS THE RIGHT TO VOTE.
ABOUT 192 NEGROES
WERE REGISTERED
ON THE AVERAGE, A MONTH,
IN THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI;
ALL OVER THE STATE, 192 A MONTH.
NOW, ON THE BASIS
OF THIS RATE OF REGISTRATION,
IT WOULD TAKE EXACTLY 135 YEARS
FOR HALF OF THE NEGROES
ELIGIBLE TO VOTE IN MISSISSIPPI
TO BECOME REGISTERED.
McCullough:
EARLY IN 1965,
MARTIN LUTHER KING ME
WITH LYNDON JOHNSON IN THE WHITE
HOUSE.
Man:
MARTIN MADE THE CASE
WE WERE GOING TO CONTINUE
TO HAVE SERIOUS PROBLEMS
AND RACIAL VIOLENCE
UNTIL WE GOT THE VOTE
AND THAT THE RIGHT TO VOTE
WAS SOMETHING WE COULD
NOT AFFORD TO WAIT ON.
PRESIDENT JOHNSON SAID
THAT THERE COULD NOT BE
A CIVIL RIGHTS ACT IN '65
BECAUSE THERE HAD JUST BEEN
A CIVIL RIGHTS ACT IN '64.
IT WAS NOT IN THE CARDS;
THAT YOU COULDN'T HAVE
BACK-TO-BACK CIVIL RIGHTS BILLS.
BUT WE FELT LIKE THERE
WAS NO CHOICE
AND SO WE TOLD HIM THEN
THAT WE WOULD BE GOING TO SELMA
TO BEGIN NONVIOLEN
DEMONSTRATIONS
TO TRY TO DRAMATIZE THE NEED
FOR THE RIGHT TO VOTE
AND THAT WE WOULD
STAY IN TOUCH WITH HIM.
McCullough:
DETERMINED TO FORCE
JOHNSON'S HAND,
KING, WORKING WITH
OTHER CIVIL RIGHTS GROUPS,
ORGANIZED A SERIES
OF DEMONSTRATIONS IN ALABAMA,
CLIMAXING IN A MARCH FROM SELMA
TO THE STATE CAPITOL
IN MONTGOMERY.
(shouting)
ALABAMA STATE TROOPERS BRUTALLY
ATTACKED THE UNARMED MARCHERS
WHILE TELEVISION CAMERAS
RECORDED THE EVEN
FOR A STUNNED NATIONAL AUDIENCE.
(siren blaring)
IT WAS CALLED "BLOODY SUNDAY."
JOHNSON WAS OUTRAGED.
WITH THE REST OF THE COUNTRY,
HE SAW IT ALL ON TELEVISION.
BUT HE REFUSED TO SEND FEDERAL
TROOPS TO PROTECT THE MARCHERS.
THERE WAS ENORMOUS PRESSURE
ON JOHNSON
TO SEND DOWN FEDERAL TROOPS.
HE SAYS THE LAST THING
HE WANTED TO DO
WAS TO SEND THE FEDERAL ARMY
INTO THE SOUTH.
HE SAID IT WOULD BE LIKE
RECONSTRUCTION ALL OVER AGAIN.
HE SAID, "I WOULD LOSE EVERY
SOUTHERNER."
McCullough:
JOHNSON SAID HE WAS AFRAID
TO PLAY INTO THE HANDS
OF THE POPULAR SEGREGATIONIS
GOVERNOR OF ALABAMA,
GEORGE WALLACE, WHO HAD TURNED
THE STATE TROOPERS LOOSE
ON THE MARCHERS.
BUT THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMEN
WAS FORCING JOHNSON TO ACTION.
DEMONSTRATORS ALL OVER
THE COUNTRY DEMANDED
THAT JOHNSON PROVIDE
FEDERAL PROTECTION
SO THAT THE MARCH
COULD GO FORWARD.
King:
NOW THEY'VE BEEN SLOW
TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT.
THEY ALWAYS FIND WAYS
TO GET OVER TO YOU
THAT IT CAN'T BE DONE.
IT'S STILL STRANGE
TO US, THOUGH,
HOW MILLIONS OF DOLLARS
CAN BE SPENT EVERY DAY
TO HOLD TROOPS IN SOUTH VIETNAM
WHEN OUR COUNTRY CANNOT PROTEC
THE RIGHTS OF NEGROES
IN SELMA, MARION, ALABAMA.
(applause)
McCullough:
JOHNSON WAS STUNNED
BY THE PRESSURE
BUT REFUSED TO BE PUSHED.
"I WAS HURT, DEEPLY HUR
BUT I WAS DETERMINED NOT TO BE
SHOVED INTO HASTY ACTION."
Wilkins:
PEOPLE WERE DEMONSTRATING
ALL OVER THE COUNTRY.
IT WAS JUST A GENERAL UPRISING.
THE PRESIDENT WAS VERY UNHAPPY.
DURING THAT WEEK,
I WAS IN THE WHITE HOUSE
AND AGAIN, WE MEET HIM.
AND HE JUST LOOKED AT ME,
HE STARED AT ME
AS IF, "I NEVER SAW THIS PERSON,
WHERE DID HE COME FROM?
I'M FURIOUS THA
HE IS IN MY SIGHT."
IT WAS REALLY FRIGHTENING.
I MEAN, HE LOOKED LIKE I
HADN'T DONE ANYTHING TO HIM.
I SAID, "HELLO, MR. PRESIDENT."
AND HE LOOKED AT ME,
AND HE SAID,
"THESE DEMONSTRATIONS
WHAT ARE THEY ALL ABOUT?"
I SAID, "PEOPLE REALLY WAN
TO VOTE, MR. PRESIDENT.
WE REALLY NEED
A VOTING RIGHTS ACT."
I WAS KIND OF TREMBLING.
(growling)
AND HE JUST LEFT.
HE DID NOT
THERE WAS NO WORDS.
NO WORDS CAME OUT, JUST
(growls)
AT THAT VERY PRECISE MOMENT,
FORTUNATELY,
WALLACE SENT A TELEGRAM
TO THE WHITE HOUSE
SAYING HE'D LIKE TO MEE
WITH THE PRESIDEN
TO DISCUSS THE SITUATION.
JOHNSON SAID, "WELL, YOU JUS
COME RIGHT AHEAD."
THAT WAS THE MOS
AMAZING CONVERSATION
I'VE EVER BEEN PRESENT A
BECAUSE HERE WAS LYNDON JOHNSON,
THE CONSUMMATE POLITICIAN
AND GEORGE WALLACE JUST DIDN'
KNOW WHAT WAS GOING ON
AT THAT MEETING.
WALLACE IS ABOUT FIVE-FOUR
AND JOHNSON IS ABOUT SIX-FOUR.
SO HE LEADS WALLACE IN
AND HE SITS HIM DOWN
ON THE COUCH.
WALLACE SINKS DOWN, SO
HE'S NOW ABOUT THREE FEET TALL.
AND JOHNSON SITS ON THE EDGE
OF THE CHAIR, LEANING OVER HIM.
"GEORGE," HE SAID, "DID YOU
SEE THOSE DEMONSTRATORS
OUT IN FRONT OF THE WHITE
HOUSE?"
"OH, YES, MR. PRESIDENT,
I SAW THEM."
HE SAID, "WOULDN'
IT BE JUST WONDERFUL
IF WE COULD PUT AN END
TO ALL THOSE DEMONSTRATIONS?"
"OH, YES, MR. PRESIDENT,
THAT WOULD BE WONDERFUL."
HE SAID, "WHY DON'T YOU AND I
GO OUT THERE, GEORGE?
"ALL THOSE TELEVISION CAMERAS
DID YOU SEE THOSE
TELEVISION CAMERAS?"
"OH, YES, I SAW THEM."
HE SAYS, "LET'S YOU
AND I GO OUT THERE
"AND LET'S ANNOUNCE THA
YOU'VE DECIDED
TO INTEGRATE EVERY SCHOOL
IN ALABAMA."
AND HIS SOUTHERN VOICE
ALWAYS DEEPENED
WHEN HE SPOKE
TO OTHER SOUTHERNERS.
HE SAYS, "YOU AGREE THAT NIGGERS
GOT THE RIGHT TO VOTE,
DON'T YOU?"
HE SAYS, "OH, YES,
MR. PRESIDENT,
NO QUARRELING WITH THAT."
HE SAYS, "WELL, WHY DON'T YOU
LET THEM VOTE?"
WELL, HE SAID, YOU KNOW, HE
SAID, "I DON'T HAVE THAT POWER.
"THAT BELONGS TO THE
COUNTY REGISTRARS
IN THE STATE OF ALABAMA."
JOHNSON LEANED BACK
AND HE SAYS, "GEORGE,"
HE SAID, "DON'T YOU SHIT ME
AS TO WHO RUNS ALABAMA."
AND WALLACE INSISTED, NO, HE
DIDN'T HAVE THE LEGAL AUTHORITY.
HE SAID, "WELL, WHY DON'T YOU
PERSUADE THEM, GEORGE."
HE SAID, "I DON'T THINK
I CAN DO THAT."
HE SAID, "NOW DON'T SHIT ME
ABOUT YOUR PERSUASIVE
POWER, GEORGE."
HE SAYS, "YOU KNOW, I SIT DOWN
IN BED IN THE MORNING
"WHEN I GET UP AND I GOT THREE
TV SETS LINED UP
"ONE AFTER THE OTHER AND I GO
A LITTLE BUTTON I CAN PRESS
"AND I CLICK AND WHENEVER I SEE
SOMETHING I'M INTERESTED IN
"I PRESS THE BUTTON
AND THE SOUND GOES ON.
"I HAD IT ON THIS MORNING
"AND I SAW YOU, AND I PRESSED
THE BUTTON.
YOU WERE TALKING YOU WAS
ATTACKING ME, GEORGE."
HE SAYS, "I WASN'
ATTACKING YOU, MR. PRESIDENT.
I WAS ATTACKING THE WHOLE
PRINCIPLE OF STATES' RIGHTS"
HE SAYS, "YOU WAS
ATTACKING ME, GEORGE.
YOU WERE SO DAMN PERSUASIVE,
I ALMOST CHANGED MY MIND."
THIS GOES ON FOR
HALF AN HOUR OR MORE,
AND THEN, FINALLY, HE TURNS
TO WALLACE AND SAYS,
"GEORGE, YOU AND I SHOULDN'T BE
THINKING ABOUT 1964.
"WE SHOULD BE THINKING
ABOUT 1984.
"WE'LL BOTH BE
DEAD AND GONE THEN.
"YOU'VE GOT A LOT OF POOR PEOPLE
DOWN THERE IN ALABAMA,
"A LOT OF IGNORANT PEOPLE,
A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO NEED JOBS,
A LOT OF PEOPLE
WHO NEED A FUTURE."
HE SAID, "YOU COULD DO
A LOT FOR THEM."
HE SAYS, "NOW, IN 1984, GEORGE,
WHAT DO YOU WANT LEFT BEHIND?
"DO YOU WAN
A GREAT BIG MARBLE MONUMEN
"THAT SAYS,
'GEORGE WALLACE HE BUILT'
"OR DO YOU WANT A LITTLE PIECE
OF SCRAWNY PINE LAYING THERE
"ALONG THAT HOT CALICHE SOIL
THAT SAYS
'GEORGE WALLACE HE HATED'?"
McCullough:
IN THE END, WALLACE AGREED
TO ASK THE PRESIDEN
TO MOBILIZE THE NATIONAL GUARD
TO PROTECT THE MARCHERS.
THE GOVERNOR WAS REPORTED
TO HAVE SAID AFTERWARDS,
"IF I HADN'T LEFT WHEN I DID,
HE'D HAVE HAD ME COMING OU
FOR CIVIL RIGHTS."
TWO DAYS LATER,
ON NATIONAL TELEVISION,
JOHNSON PRESENTED
A TOUGH VOTING RIGHTS BILL
TO A JOINT SESSION OF CONGRESS.
BUT EVEN IF WE PASS THIS BILL,
THE BATTLE WILL NOT BE OVER.
WHAT HAPPENED IN SELMA IS
PART OF A FAR LARGER MOVEMEN
WHICH REACHES INTO EVERY SECTION
AND STATE OF AMERICA.
IT IS THE EFFOR
OF AMERICAN NEGROES
TO SECURE FOR THEMSELVES THE
FULL BLESSINGS OF AMERICAN LIFE.
THEIR CAUSE MUST BE
OUR CAUSE, TOO,
BECAUSE IT'S NOT JUST NEGROES,
BUT REALLY IT'S ALL OF US
WHO MUST OVERCOME THE CRIPPLING
LEGACY OF BIGOTRY AND INJUSTICE
AND WE SHALL OVERCOME.
(applause)
WE SHALL OVERCOME ♪
McCullough:
WITH THE PROTECTION
OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT,
THE MARCHERS ASSEMBLED
IN THE HEART OF THE OLD SOUTH
TO CLAIM THEIR RIGHTS
AS AMERICAN CITIZENS.
Wilkins:
YOU FELT THA
THE PENT-UP NEEDS
AND DESIRES OF YOUR PEOPLE OVER
THE GENERATIONS
WERE GOING TO BE ACHIEVED
IN YOUR LIFETIME;
ENORMOUS, WHEN YOU THOUGHT OF
YOUR ANCESTORS WHO WERE SLAVES.
WE SHALL OVERCOME SOMEDAY ♪
WELL, AT THAT POINT,
I WAS, LIKE, BONDED TO HIM.
MY TRANSFORMATION AS A
HUMAN BEING HAD BEEN COMPLETE.
I BELIEVED BY THEN THAT HE WAS
TRULY THE CIVIL RIGHTS PRESIDEN
THAT WE WANTED AND NEEDED.
WE SHALL OVERCOME SOMEDAY ♪
(plane engine roaring)
Man 1:
DOORS OPEN AT 30 T.G.,
COMING UP ON 30 T.G.
Man 2:
30 T.G.
Man 1:
ROGER.
STAND BY TO RELEASE.
READY, READY, NOW.
Man 2:
BOMBS AWAY.
McCullough:
ALL THROUGH EARLY 1965,
BOMBS CONTINUED TO FALL
ON NORTH VIETNAM.
Man 1:
READY, READY, NOW.
(explosions)
McCullough:
JOHNSON HAD HOPED
THAT THE MASSIVE AIR STRIKES
BY THE B-52s
WOULD HALT THE FLOW OF SUPPLIES
FROM NORTH TO SOUTH,
BUT THE BOMBS SEEMED ONLY
TO STIFFEN THE RESOLVE
OF HO AND THE NORTH VIETNAMESE.
Man:
TURN NOW.
McCullough:
THE WAR WAS ACQUIRING
A MOMENTUM OF ITS OWN
AND A DESPERATE SENSE
OF INEVITABILITY.
ON MARCH 8, JOHNSON ORDERED THE
FIRST AMERICAN FIGHTING TROOPS
INTO VIETNAM.
THEIR MISSION WAS
OFFICIALLY DEFENSIVE
TO PROTECT THE PLANES THAT WERE
BOMBING NORTH VIETNAM.
Reporter:
WHEN THE MARINES
FIRST LANDED AT DANANG,
WE WERE TOLD THAT THE OBJECTIVE
WAS TO DEFEND THE AIR BASE.
NOW, HOW DO YOU
RESOLVE THAT, SIR,
WITH YOUR STATEMENTS
IN SAIGON
THAT THEIR OBJECTIVE
IS TO KILL THE VIETCONG?
YOU CAN'T DEFEND
A PLACE LIKE THA
BY SITTING ON YOUR DITTY BOX.
YOU'VE GOT TO GET OU
AND AGGRESSIVELY PATROL
AND THAT'S WHA
OUR PEOPLE ARE DOING.
AND ONE THING I EMPHASIZED TO
THEM WHILE I WAS OUT THERE
WAS TO FIND THESE VIETCONG
AND KILL THEM.
Man (on radio):
I SAW SOME PEOPLE RUNNING
ALONG THE DIKES.
ACTUALLY, THE CANAL IS
PERPENDICULAR
TO THE ONE YOU'RE ATTACKING NOW.
THEY HAVE ON BLACK UNIFORMS.
I ESTIMATE APPROXIMATELY 3-0.
DO YOU HAVE THEM IN SIGHT?
OVER.
Man 2 (on radio):
THIS IS 2-3, ROGER,
WE HAVE THEM IN SIGHT.
WE'RE ENGAGING THEM
AT THE PRESENT TIME.
Man 3 (on radio):
GOOD JOB.
I SAW YOU SPLATTER ONE RIGH
IN THE BACK WITH A ROCKET.
Man 2 (on radio):
ROGER.
GOT LUCKY, I GUESS.
McCullough:
THE LOGIC OF WAR WAS RELENTLESS.
ADVISORS HAD LED TO BOMBING;
BOMBING NOW LED TO TROOPS.
BY EARLY 1965,
THOUSANDS OF AMERICAN SOLDIERS
WERE IN VIETNAM
AND STILL THE SOUTH VIETNAMESE
ARMY WAS LOSING.
ON MARCH 15, JOHNSON ME
WITH THE JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF,
AND GENERAL HAROLD K. JOHNSON
MADE A PREDICTION
THAT SENT A SHOCK WAVE
THROUGH THE ROOM.
"TO WIN THE WAR," HE SAID,
"IT COULD TAKE FIVE YEARS
AND 500,000 MEN."
NOW JOHNSON KNEW THE STAKES:
TO KEEP SOUTH VIETNAM
FROM FALLING,
HE MIGHT HAVE TO COMMIT HUNDREDS
OF THOUSANDS OF AMERICAN BOYS
TO A FULL-SCALE LAND WAR
IN ASIA.
HE WAS FACE-TO-FACE WITH THE
DECISION HE HAD BEEN DREADING.
"IF I DON'T GO IN NOW AND THEY
SHOW LATER I SHOULD HAVE GONE,
"THEN THEY'LL BE
ALL OVER ME IN CONGRESS.
"THEY WON'T BE TALKING
ABOUT MY CIVIL RIGHTS BILL
"OR EDUCATION OR BEAUTIFICATION.
"NO, SIR, THEY'LL BE PUSHING
VIETNAM UP MY ASS EVERY TIME
VIETNAM, VIETNAM, VIETNAM."
Berman:
HOW WOULD JOHNSON
EXPLAIN TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE
THAT THE COUNTRY THAT JOHN
KENNEDY HAD PROMISED TO DEFEND,
THAT DWIGHT EISENHOWER HAD
PROMISED TO DEFEND,
WASN'T WORTH DEFENDING
ANY LONGER?
HAD THE PEOPLE CHANGED?
HAD OUR COMMITMEN
TO FREEDOM CHANGED?
OR WAS IT THAT WE COULDN'
DEFEAT THE NORTH VIETNAMESE?
McCullough:
EVERY TUESDAY, JOHNSON HAD LUNCH
WITH HIS PRINCIPAL ADVISORS.
"IF YOU CAN SHOW ME ANY
REASONABLE OUT I'LL GRAB IT,"
HE TOLD THEM.
BUT TO GIVE IN WOULD BE
A SIGN OF WEAKNESS.
THE LESSONS OF WORLD WAR II
WERE ALWAYS IN THE BACK
OF THEIR MINDS
"STOP AGGRESSION WHEN I
BEGINS"; "NEVER REWARD A BULLY,"
AND THE REAL BULLIES BEHIND HO
AND THE NORTH VIETNAMESE,
THEY BELIEVED, WERE THE
RUSSIANS AND THE CHINESE.
Thompson:
THE MEN AT THE TOP DID
NOT WANT TO BE BOTHERED
WITH RETHINKING OF ASSUMPTIONS,
AND MOST OF WHA
A DISSENTER MIGHT OFFER
NAMELY, THAT CHINESE COMMUNISM
WAS NO MORTAL THREAT TO US
AND WAS VERY DIFFERENT FROM
THE SOVIET FORM OF COMMUNISM
AND THAT HANOI POSED
NO MAJOR THREAT TO US
AND WAS DIFFERENT ITSELF
FROM MOSCOW AND PEKING
THIS KIND OF CHALLENGE TO THE
ASSUMPTIONS UNDERLYING A POLICY
WAS REGARDED AS TROUBLEMAKING.
McCullough:
OF ALL HIS ADVISORS,
ONLY ONE WAS READY
TO BE A TROUBLEMAKER,
TO CHALLENGE THE CONVENTIONAL
WISDOM
THAT JOHNSON HAD NO CHOICE
BUT TO SEND IN TROOPS
UNDERSECRETARY OF STATE
GEORGE BALL.
Ball:
I THOUGHT THE BALLOON
WAS GOING UP MUCH TOO FAST,
SO I SPENT A FEW NIGHTS
PREPARING A MEMORANDUM,
WHICH WAS 75 PAGES OR SO, WHICH
IS NOW IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN,
IN WHICH I CHALLENGED EVERY
ASSUMPTION OF OUR WAR IN VIETNAM
AND CAME TO THE CONCLUSION THA
IT WASN'T A WAR WE COULD WIN.
THE NEXT MORNING,
I GOT A CALL SAYING,
"DAMN YOU, GEORGE,
YOU KEPT ME AWAKE ALL NIGHT.
"I READ THAT THING THREE TIMES.
"WHY DIDN'T YOU EVER
GIVE IT TO ME BEFORE?
"GET OVER HERE IN THE MORNING
AND WE'LL DISCUSS
IT IF IT TAKES ALL DAY."
Berman:
GEORGE BALL IS
TELLING JOHNSON,
"LOOK, YOU'RE GOING
TO LOSE IN VIETNAM.
"YOU'RE GOING TO END UP WITH
A PROTRACTED WAR
"THAT WILL DIVIDE AMERICA.
"AT THE END OF THREE OR FOUR
OR FIVE YEARS,
"YOU'RE GOING TO BE IN VIETNAM
WITH 500,000 AMERICAN TROOPS
"AND YOU'RE NOT GOING
TO ACCOMPLISH
YOUR POLITICAL OBJECTIVE."
HE'S ADVISING JOHNSON TO LE
THE GOVERNMENT FALL,
TO LET THE GOVERNMENT OF SOUTH
VIETNAM FALL AND WALK AWAY.
AND IT MUST BE SHOCKING TO HIM
"WHAT IF GEORGE BALL IS RIGHT?"
NOW, FROM HIS MILITARY ADVISORS
HE HEARS THE SAME THING
IT'S GOING TO BE A LONG,
PROTRACTED WAR
IN THE JUNGLES OF VIETNAM;
FOUR, FIVE YEARS,
500,000 TROOPS, 600,000 TROOPS.
THIS MUST HAVE BEEN
EXTRAORDINARY PRESSURE
ON THIS MAN AT THIS ONE PERIOD.
"WHAT DO I DO?
IS GEORGE BALL RIGHT?
ARE THE MILITARY COMMANDERS
RIGHT?"
IS THIS GOING TO BE A QUAGMIRE?
McCullough:
JOHNSON STILL CLUNG TO THE IDEA
THAT THE SOUTH VIETNAMESE ARMY
COULD WIN THE WAR THEMSELVES.
HE TOLD HIS ADVISORS,
"GET EVERY SOUTH VIETNAMESE MAN
UNDER 40 YEARS
"AND GET IT DONE
FIGHT 'EM, KILL 'EM.
"GET OFF THAT GOLD WATCH,
PHI BETA KAPPA KEY.
LET'S GET GOING."
(machine gun fire)
AT THE END OF MARCH,
HO CHI MINH VOWED
THAT HE WAS READY TO FIGH
ANOTHER 20 YEARS
IF THAT'S WHAT IT TOOK TO WIN.
JOHNSON GREW MORE AND MORE GRIM.
"EVERYTHING I KNEW ABOU
HISTORY," HE SAID,
TOLD ME THAT IF I GOT OU
OF VIETNAM
AND LET HO CHI MINH RUN THROUGH
THE STREETS OF SAIGON,
THEN I'D BE DOING EXACTLY
WHAT THEY DID IN WORLD WAR II.
I'D BE GIVING A BIG, FAT REWARD
TO AGGRESSION."
THE WAR WAS CAREENING
OUT OF CONTROL.
(explosion)
SOUTH VIETNAM WAS ABOUT TO FALL.
JOHNSON COULD HESITATE
NO LONGER.
HE WOULD HAVE TO DECIDE
ESCALATE OR WITHDRAW.
AT THE END OF JULY,
HE INVITED HIS ADVISORS
TO A REMARKABLE SERIES OF
MEETINGS THAT LASTED ALL WEEK.
THE ISSUES WOULD BE AIRED
ONE LAST TIME.
"I DON'T WANT TO MAKE ANY SNAP
JUDGMENTS," JOHNSON TOLD THEM.
"I WANT TO CONSIDER
ALL OUR OPTIONS."
ONCE AGAIN,
BALL ARGUED HIS CASE
"WE CANNOT WIN; THIS WAR WILL
BE LONG AND PROTRACTED."
AND ONCE AGAIN,
BALL WAS SHOT DOWN.
"IF THE COMMUNIST WORLD
FINDS OU
"WE WILL NOT PURSUE
OUR COMMITMENT TO THE END,
I DON'T KNOW WHERE
THEY WILL STAY THEIR HAND."
HOW WE REACTED IN VIETNAM
WOULD BE LOOKED UPON
BY OTHER GOVERNMENTS
AS A SIGN AS TO HOW WE WOULD
REACT UNDER OTHER TREATIES
SUCH AS NATO AND THE RIO PACT.
IN OTHER WORDS, THE REPUTATION
OF THE UNITED STATES
FOR FIDELITY TO
ITS SECURITY TREATIES
IS NOT JUST A SIMPLE QUESTION
OF FACE AND PRESTIGE
IT'S A REAL PILLAR OF PEACE
IN THE WORLD.
McCullough:
SECRETARY OF DEFENSE McNAMARA
AGREED WITH RUSK.
HE ASSURED THE PRESIDEN
THAT WE COULD WIN
WITHIN TWO AND A HALF YEARS.
THERE WAS NO RISK
OF A CATASTROPHE.
BUT BALL CONTINUED TO ARGUE
"TAKE WHAT PRECAUTIONS WE CAN,
MR. PRESIDENT.
"TAKE OUR LOSSES,
NEGOTIATE, DISCUSS,
"KNOWING FULL WELL
THERE WILL BE
A PROBABLE TAKEOVER
BY THE COMMUNISTS."
IT WOULD HAVE BEEN
TERRIBLY DIFFICUL
TO DO WHAT GEORGE BALL URGED,
WHICH WAS STRAIGHT WITHDRAWAL.
IT WOULD HAVE BEEN, I THINK,
VERY DAMAGING TO THE COUNTRY.
IT WOULD HAVE BEEN
VERY DIVISIVE.
Thomson:
WITHDRAWAL IS NO
WHAT A BIG, COMMANDING TEXAN
EVER DOES.
ON THE OTHER HAND, HE WAS ONE OF
THE WORLD'S GREAT DEAL MAKERS.
HE JUST DIDN'T KNOW
HOW TO DO IT OVERSEAS,
ESPECIALLY WHEN COMMUNISM
WAS INVOLVED
AND WHEN THE WHITE HOUSE
APPEARED TO BE AT STAKE.
I HAVE A GREAT SYMPATHY
WITH THE MAN
FOR WHAT HE WENT THROUGH
WITH REFERENCE TO THE WAR.
I DON'T KNOW WHETHER
ANY OTHER PRESIDEN
WOULD HAVE DONE I
ANY DIFFERENTLY.
IF YOU ANALYZE I
WITH GREAT CARE AS HE DID
AND YOU LINE UP ALL THOSE
IN FAVOR OF GOING ON WITH I
AND THOSE WHO WERE
OPPOSED TO IT,
IT'S TEN, 15, 20 TO ONE.
McCullough:
AFTER MONTHS OF DOUBT,
THE PRESIDENT MADE HIS DECISION.
HE HAD INHERITED A LIMITED WAR.
NOW HE CHOSE TO EXPAND IT.
ON JULY 28, 1965,
HE ADDRESSED REPORTERS
AT AN AFTERNOON
PRESS CONFERENCE.
I HAVE TODAY ORDERED TO VIETNAM
THE AIR MOBILE DIVISION
AND CERTAIN OTHER FORCES WHICH
WILL RAISE OUR FIGHTING STRENGTH
FROM 75,000 TO 125,000 MEN
ALMOST IMMEDIATELY.
ADDITIONAL FORCES
WILL BE NEEDED LATER
AND THEY WILL BE SEN
AS REQUESTED.
Berman:
THIS WAS IT,
THE WAR WAS AMERICANIZED
WE WERE COMMITTED.
WE WERE COMMITTED
TO NOT LOSING VIETNAM.
Ellsberg:
MOST PEOPLE HAVE ALWAYS
IMAGINED, AND BECAUSE,
IN PART, THEY'VE BEEN TOLD,
THAT A PRESIDENT LIKE JOHNSON
COULD ONLY HAVE
GOTTEN US INTO THIS
IF HE HAD BEEN UNAWARE, IF HE
HAD BEEN DECEIVED, LIED TO.
NOW, THAT WAS UNTRUE;
HE HAD BEEN TOLD HE WAS HEADING
INTO A CATASTROPHE,
BUT I THINK
HE FOUND IT IN HIMSELF
THAT HE MIGHT GET AWAY WITH IT.
AND THAT POSSIBILITY,
I THINK, DREW HIM ON
INTO THIS SEA OF DEVASTATION.
McCullough:
THE PRESIDENT NEVER ASKED
FOR A DECLARATION OF WAR,
BUT ON JULY 28, 1965, LYNDON
JOHNSON WENT TO WAR IN VIETNAM.
HE KEPT THE RISKS
AND COSTS OF WAR HIDDEN
FROM THE AMERICAN PEOPLE.
HE NEVER TOLD THEM
HE'D BEEN WARNED THAT HUNDREDS
OF THOUSANDS OF SOLDIERS
MIGHT BE NEEDED;
NEVER PREPARED THEM
FOR THE STRUGGLE
HE KNEW MIGHT LIE AHEAD.
Reporter:
DOES THE FACT THAT YOU'RE
SENDING ADDITIONAL FORCES
IMPLY ANY CHANGE
IN THE EXISTING POLICY
OF RELYING MAINLY
ON THE SOUTH VIETNAMESE
TO CARRY OU
OFFENSIVE OPERATIONS?
IT DOES NOT IMPLY ANY CHANGE
IN POLICY WHATEVER.
IT DOES NOT IMPLY
ANY CHANGE OF OBJECTIVE, UH
Berman:
HE DOESN'T TELL THE AMERICAN
PEOPLE WHAT'S REALLY GOING ON
BECAUSE HE FEARS THA
IF HE MOVES AHEAD
AND ESCALATES THE WAR
IN VIETNAM AND MOBILIZES
AND DOES ALL OF THESE ACTIONS,
THAT'S THE END
OF THE GREAT SOCIETY;
THAT'S THE END OF THE ONE THING
HE CARES ABOU
MORE THAN ANYTHING.
Johnson:
THIS NATION IS MIGHTY ENOUGH,
ITS SOCIETY IS HEALTHY ENOUGH,
ITS PEOPLE ARE STRONG ENOUGH
TO PURSUE OUR GOALS
IN THE REST OF THE WORLD
WHILE STILL BUILDING
A GREAT SOCIETY HERE AT HOME.
(applause)
McCullough:
JUST TWO DAYS AFTER HIS DECISION
TO COMMIT AMERICA
TO A LAND WAR IN ASIA,
HE TRAVELED
TO INDEPENDENCE, MISSOURI
AND SIGNED INTO LAW MEDICARE.
Newsreel announcer:
MR. JOHNSON CHOSE TO SIGN
THE BILL HERE
AS A TRIBUTE
TO FORMER PRESIDENT TRUMAN.
THE FORMER PRESIDENT CAMPAIGNED
FOR MEDICARE 20 YEARS AGO
BUT IT TOOK TWO DECADES
FOR HIS PROPOSAL TO BECOME LAW.
THE NEW BILL EXPANDS
THE 30-YEAR-OLD
SOCIAL SECURITY PROGRAM
TO PROVIDE HOSPITAL CARE,
NURSING HOME CARE,
HOME NURSING SERVICE
AND OUTPATIENT TREATMENT FOR
THOSE OVER 65.
McCullough:
JOHNSON CONTINUED
TO PASS LEGISLATION.
ONLY THE PRESIDENT KNEW
THAT HIS GREAT SOCIETY
WAS IN JEOPARDY.
HE HID THE COSTS OF THE WAR FROM
CONGRESS AND SIGNED MORE BILLS.
Kearns Goodwin:
WHEN HE GOT INTO THA
GREAT SOCIETY MODE,
HE LOOKED AT EVERY PROBLEM
IN THE SOCIETY
AND FELT, "I'M GOING
TO MAKE IT BETTER."
HE HAD THIS DESIRE TO PERFEC
EVERYTHING,
AND TO HAVE HIS STAMP
ON EVERYTHING.
SO HE SAW HANDICAPPED PEOPLE,
HE WAS GOING TO MAKE THINGS
BETTER FOR THEM;
RETARDED PEOPLE, HE WAS GOING TO
MAKE THINGS BETTER FOR THEM.
WHATEVER IT WAS HE WANTED TO
MAKE THINGS BETTER.
HE LIKED TO MAKE
EVERYBODY FEEL GOOD.
Shriver:
YOU COULD SEE THE GREAT PROGRESS
WHICH WAS BEING MADE
FOR POOR PEOPLE.
YOU COULD SEE THE TRANSFORMATION
OF YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN
WHO WERE IN
THE UPWARD BOUND PROGRAM.
YOU COULD SEE THEM
GOING TO UNIVERSITIES
WHEN THEY NEVER HAD ANYBODY IN
THEIR FAMILY
EVER WENT TO COLLEGE IN THEIR
WHOLE LIFE.
YOU COULD SEE THAT.
YOU COULD SEE WHAT WAS
HAPPENING TO THE MOTHERS
NOT JUST TO THE CHILDREN, BU
THE MOTHERS OF THE CHILDREN
IN THE HEADSTART PROGRAM.
YOU COULD SEE MOTHERS
WHO WERE ILLITERATE
AND NEVER BEEN TO SCHOOL
SUDDENLY STARTING
TO LEARN THEMSELVES
BECAUSE THEY WERE LEARNING
SIMULTANEOUSLY
WITH THEIR CHILD
WHO WAS IN HEADSTART.
YOU COULD SEE PEOPLE 16
TO 21 WHO WERE IN THE JOB CORPS
ACTUALLY GRADUATING
AND GOING OUT AND GETTING JOBS
AND BEGINNING TO LEAD
USEFUL LIVES.
PEOPLE WERE COMING OUT OF
POVERTY AND WE COULD SEE IT.
IT'S LIKE LARGESS,
IT'S LIKE A MIRACLE,
SOMETHING COMES FROM THE SKY.
THERE'S A BUNCH OF BILLS THA
SAY, "WE UNDERSTAND YOUR PROBLEM
AND WE'RE GOING TO SEND YOU
A TON OF MONEY
BECAUSE IT'S THE RIGH
AND AMERICAN WAY."
I WANT ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY
TO BE SPREAD ACROSS THIS LAND
NORTH, SOUTH, EAST AND WEST,
TO ALL PEOPLE
WHATEVER THEIR RACE, WHATEVER
THEIR WORK, WHEREVER THEY LIVE.
Malafronte:
TELEVISION WASN'T FAIR
TO JOHNSON.
HE LOOKED FUNNY,
WITH THOSE BIG EARS
AND ALL THAT SORT OF STUFF.
BUT IN PERSON
HE WAS REALLY A HANDSOME GUY
BIG, TALL, HANDSOME MAN.
AND HE CAME PUTS HIS ARM
I WAS JUST A CITY AIDE,
HAPPY TO BE LOOKING ON.
THEN HE PUTS HIS ARM AROUND YOU
AND SAYS,
"YOU'RE DOING
A GREAT JOB, SON."
WELL, THAT'S PRETTY HEADY STUFF.
YOU JUST LOVED THE GUY.
Johnson:
THIS IS NOT A TIME
FOR TIMID SOULS
AND TREMBLING SPIRITS.
Malafronte:
HE TALKED ABOUT PEOPLE PROGRAMS.
HE'D SAY, "PEOPLE
I'M TALKING ABOUT PEOPLE.
I MEAN P-E-E-P-U-L
I'M TALKING FOLKS!"
Doggett:
YEAH, IT WAS AN EXCITING TIME.
WE WERE BEING CHALLENGED
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED
STATES
TO GO INTO OUR LOCAL COMMUNITIES
AND MAKE A CHANGE.
AND NOT ONLY WAS IT RHETORIC,
THERE WERE DOLLARS COMING IN
TO LOCAL COMMUNITIES
TO MAKE IT HAPPEN.
LYNDON JOHNSON WAS SAYING THA
THIS HAS TO BE DONE
AND WE BELIEVED
IT COULD BE DONE.
WASHINGTON SHOULD NOT BE TELLING
YOUR HOMETOWN WHAT TO DO
TO SOLVE ITS PROBLEMS
OF POVERTY.
YOU OUGHT TO BE TELLING US
WHAT WE CAN DO
TO HELP YOU CARRY OU
YOUR PLANS.
IT WAS AN ATTEMPT TO ENERGIZE
AND EMPOWER POOR PEOPLE.
THAT'S RARELY IF EVER DONE
BY AN ELECTED GOVERNMENT.
IT HAD A GALVANIZING EFFEC
ON A LOT OF COMMUNITY PERSONS
WHO MIGHT NOT HAVE BEEN INVOLVED
IN GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS
AND AMERICAN LIFE IN A WAY
THAT THE POVERTY PROGRAM
PERMITTED THEM TO DO,
AND THAT WAS GREAT.
Doggett:
CERTAINLY, THIS WAS A GREA
OPPORTUNITY FOR MINORITIES,
FOR WOMEN WHO UP TILL THEN
HAD NOT HAD A CHANCE
TO PLAY A SIGNIFICANT ROLE
IN RUNNING A LARGE ORGANIZATION.
SO I VERY EARLY
HAD AN OPPORTUNITY
TO BECOME AN ADMINISTRATOR
OF A VERY LARGE CORPORATION,
A MULTIMILLION-DOLLAR
CORPORATION,
WHICH, OF COURSE, WAS REALLY
UNIQUE IN THOSE DAYS.
WE WERE YOUNG, WE WERE GIFTED,
WE WERE BLACK
AND WE SAW RESOURCES THERE,
WE SAW NATIONAL WILL THERE
AND THERE WAS CERTAINLY
THIS LOCAL ENERGY OF PEOPLE
WHO WANTED TO MAKE A CHANGE
IN THEIR LIVES
AND IT CAME TOGETHER
ALL AT THE SAME TIME.
Announcer:
IN THE SAME ROOM WHERE
PRESIDENT LINCOLN SIGNED
THE FIRST EMANCIPATION ORDER
IN 1861
PRESIDENT JOHNSON SIGNED THE
1965 VOTER REGISTRATION AC
AND PLEDGED TO MILLIONS
OF AMERICANS A NEW CHANCE
TO FIND A POLITICAL VOICE.
McCullough:
THE CROWNING ACHIEVEMEN
OF THE JOHNSON PRESIDENCY WAS
THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT OF 1965.
100 YEARS AFTER THE END
OF THE CIVIL WAR,
WITH A STROKE OF HIS PEN,
LYNDON JOHNSON GUARANTEED BLACK
AMERICANS THE RIGHT TO VOTE.
(police sirens wailing)
BUT THE SENSE OF TRIUMPH AND
ACCOMPLISHMENT WAS SHORT-LIVED.
JUST FIVE DAYS AFTER JOHNSON
SIGNED THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT,
RIOTS ERUPTED IN WATTS, A BLACK
NEIGHBORHOOD IN LOS ANGELES.
FIVE DAYS OF RIOTING
LEFT 34 PEOPLE DEAD.
JOHNSON WAS SHATTERED.
AS ONE AIDE DESCRIBED HIM,
"HE JUST WOULDN'T ACCEPT IT.
HE REFUSED TO LOOK AT THE
CABLES FROM LOS ANGELES
DESCRIBING THE SITUATION.
HE REFUSED TO TAKE THE CALLS
FROM THE GENERALS.
WE NEEDED DECISIONS FROM HIM,
BUT HE SIMPLY WOULDN'T RESPOND."
HE REACTED VERY BADLY
HOW WOULD YOU REACT?
YOU'RE SITTING THERE
IN THE WHITE HOUSE,
YOU'RE IN CHARGE OF THE COUNTRY,
AND PEOPLE THINK
YOU HAVE ALL THIS POWER
AND THE COUNTRY
STARTS BURNING UP.
(police sirens)
JOHNSON HAD A GOOD HEART, BU
HE WASN'T A CIVIL RIGHTS EXPERT.
HE KNEW TEXAS, BUT HE DIDN'
KNOW BIG-CITY GHETTOS.
HE WANTED BLACK PEOPLE
TO BE GRATEFUL.
"I DID THIS,"
AND HE'D PULL OUT A BILL
AND HE WOULD TELL
WHAT HE DID ON IT.
"AND I DID THIS,"
AND HE'D PULL OUT ANOTHER BILL.
"AND I DID THIS,
AND I'M DOING THIS
HOW CAN THEY DO THIS TO ME?"
AND PEOPLE WOULD TRY TO TELL HIM
AND IT WAS HARD TO TELL HIM.
McPherson:
AMERICAN RACISM WAS STILL THERE.
THE LAWS HAD NO
SUDDENLY ELIMINATED
HOW PEOPLE REALLY FELT.
(man shouting)
Malafronte:
I THINK THE GAP
BETWEEN THE EXPECTATIONS
OF THE EARLY JOHNSON YEARS
AND THE ABILITY OF GOVERNMEN
TO PERFORM
CREATED A POTENTIAL EXPLOSION
IN EVERY CITY IN AMERICA.
PEOPLE WERE DISAPPOINTED
AND ANGRY
AND RESPONDED BY ATTACKING
WHATEVER WAS HANDY.
McCullough:
"HOW IS IT POSSIBLE,"
JOHNSON ASKED,
"AFTER ALL WE'VE ACCOMPLISHED?
HOW COULD IT BE?"
IS IT TOO MUCH TO ASK YOU
TO GRANT US HUMAN DIGNITY?
SHOULD WE BE PUT DOWN AND SHO
TO DEATH FOR THIS REQUEST?
IF SO, YOU CAN AIM YOUR GUNS.
WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK
WE CARE ABOUT DYING
IF YOU'RE GOING TO DENY US
THE RIGHT TO LIVE?
Farmer:
LYNDON JOHNSON
COULD NOT UNDERSTAND
THAT THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMEN
HAD CHANGED ITS CLASS CONTENT.
JOHNSON FELT PARTICULARLY
UNCOMFORTABLE
WITH THIS NEW GROUP
OF POORER BLACKS
FROM THE INNER CITIES
OF THE NORTH.
THEY WERE NOT LIKE THE POOR
BLACKS AND MEXICAN AMERICANS
THAT HE HAD HAD CONTACT WITH
DOWN IN TEXAS.
THESE WERE DIFFERENT
THESE WERE RAUCOUS PEOPLE,
THEY WERE ANGRY PEOPLE,
THEY WERE BELLIGERENT FOLK.
THEY DID NOT SEE LYNDON JOHNSON
AS A FRIEND;
THEY SAW LYNDON JOHNSON
AS A WHITE MAN.
(crowd shouting)
WE WANT BLACK POWER!
WE WANT BLACK POWER!
WE WANT BLACK POWER!
WE WANT BLACK POWER!
WE WANT BLACK POWER!
McCullough:
INTEGRATION WAS
NO LONGER THE BATTLE CRY.
WE WANT BLACK POWER!
McCullough:
"TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE"
IS WHAT NEW BLACK VOICES
WERE SAYING
ABOUT JOHNSON'S ACHIEVEMENTS.
THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMEN
AS JOHNSON KNEW IT WAS OVER.
HE NEVER UNDERSTOOD IT,
BLACK CONSCIOUSNESS.
HE DID NOT UNDERSTAND
THAT THE GENERATIONS OF
OF HEAPING INFERIORITY INTO
OUR SOULS NEEDED TO BE PURGED.
AND IF YOU'RE GOING TO PU
THAT AWFUL STUFF INTO PEOPLE,
WHEN PEOPLE BEGIN TO EXPEL IT,
IT'S NOT COMING OUT PRETTY.
YOU'RE NOT GOING TO STAND UP AND
PREACH PRETTY SERMONS;
YOU'RE GOING TO SAY SOME UGLY
THINGS, WHICH PEOPLE DID.
YOU'RE GOING TO SIT IN FRON
OF YOUR TELEVISION SE
AND LISTEN TO L.B.J.
TELL YOU THA
"VIOLENCE NEVER ACCOMPLISHES
ANYTHING, MY FELLOW AMERICANS."
(cheering and applause)
BUT YOU SEE THE REAL PROBLEM
WITH VIOLENCE IS
THAT WE HAVE NEVER BEEN VIOLENT.
WE HAVE BEEN TOO NONVIOLENT,
TOO NONVIOLENT.
(cheering)
McCullough:
THE OPTIMISM OF
THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMEN
HAD GONE UP IN FLAMES.
JUSTICE, FAIRNESS,
THE WAR ON POVERTY
HAD BEEN TOO LONG DELAYED
IN AMERICA'S GHETTOS.
NOT EVEN A POLITICIAN
OF JOHNSON'S GENIUS
WOULD BE ABLE TO HOLD
THE COUNTRY TOGETHER.
IN TIMES OF STRESS AND TENSION
IN HIS LIFE,
JOHNSON WAS OFTEN
STRUCK DOWN BY ILLNESS.
IN 1965, HE ENTERED BETHESDA
NAVY HOSPITAL FOR SURGERY.
WITH TEN DOCTORS
AND THREE SECRET SERVICE MEN
IN ATTENDANCE,
JOHNSON HAD HIS GALLBLADDER
AND A KIDNEY STONE REMOVED.
AFTER A TWO-HOUR OPERATION,
JOHNSON WENT RIGHT BACK TO WORK.
HE WAS NEVER SHY ABOU
CONDUCTING THE NATION'S BUSINESS
FROM THE MOST UNLIKELY PLACES.
HE COULD BE EARTHY AND CRUDE,
EVEN VULGAR.
AFTER HIS OPERATION,
HE COULDN'T RESIST SHOWING
REPORTERS HIS FOOT-LONG SCAR.
ONE CARTOONIST TRANSFORMED
THE SCAR INTO A MAP OF VIETNAM.
JOHNSON HAD GAMBLED
HIS POLITICAL FUTURE
AND THE LIVES OF TENS
OF THOUSANDS OF MEN
THAT HE COULD WIN
A QUICK VICTORY,
THAT WHEN HE SEN
AMERICAN TROOPS IN FORCE,
HO WOULD TURN TAIL AND RUN.
BUT THE NORTH VIETNAMESE
REFUSED TO QUIT.
HO RESISTED JOHNSON'S ESCALATION
WITH AN ESCALATION OF HIS OWN,
MATCHING HIM
SOLDIER FOR SOLDIER.
FOUR MONTHS AFTER JOHNSON'S
AGONIZING DECISION
TO SEND THE TROOPS,
HE RECEIVED AN OMINOUS
PRIVATE REPOR
FROM THE MAN WHO HAD ARGUED
MOST FERVENTLY
FOR THE LAND WAR IN ASIA.
SECRETARY OF DEFENSE
ROBERT McNAMARA
HAD BEGUN TO HAVE
SECOND THOUGHTS.
Berman:
IN LATE 1965,
WE HAVE MINUTES OF MEETINGS
IN WHICH THE SECRETARY
OF DEFENSE, ROBERT McNAMARA,
TELLS LYNDON JOHNSON THA
"WE'VE BEEN TOO OPTIMISTIC
"THE WAR CAN'T BE WON
IN THE PERIOD OF TIME
THAT WE'VE THOUGHT."
McCullough:
EVEN WITH 600,000 MEN,
McNAMARA TOLD HIM,
THE ODDS WERE 50-50
THAT AFTER A YEAR OR MORE
THERE WOULD BE
A MILITARY STANDOFF.
I THINK THE EVIDENCE
IS OVERWHELMING
THAT JOHNSON DID NOT WAN
TO HEAR
WHAT THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE
HAD TO SAY
AND FROM THAT MOMENT ON,
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN
THE TWO MEN DETERIORATED
AND WAS NEVER THE SAME.
Ball:
HE WANTED DESPERATELY TO BE TOLD
THAT THINGS WERE GOING WELL,
AND HE WASN'T NECESSARILY
GETTING THAT ADVICE.
WELL, I THINK IT SHOOK HIM
A GREAT DEAL.
I THINK THAT HE FEL
THAT HE HAD GOTTEN
HE WAS RIDING A TIGER
AND HE COULDN'T GET OFF.
McCullough:
THE WHITE HOUSE COULD KEEP
THESE INTERNAL DEBATES HIDDEN,
BUT THERE WAS NO HIDING WHA
WAS HAPPENING IN VIETNAM.
THIS IS WHAT THE WAR
IN VIETNAM IS ALL ABOUT.
(man speaking Vietnamese)
THE OLD AND THE VERY YOUNG.
THE MARINES HAVE BURNED
THIS OLD COUPLE'S COTTAGE
BECAUSE FIRE WAS COMING
FROM HERE.
Reporter:
We're on the outskirts
of the village of Cam Ny
with elements of the 1st
Battalion, 9th Marines.
McCullough:
JOHNSON BRIDLED AT WHAT HE SAW.
HE KNEW
THE POWER OF TELEVISION
AND WORRIED ABOU
HOW AMERICANS WOULD REAC
TO WATCHING THE WAR IN THEIR
LIVING ROOMS NIGHT AFTER NIGHT.
Reporter:
Today's operation is
the frustration of Vietnam
in miniature.
THERE IS LITTLE DOUB
THAT AMERICAN FIREPOWER
CAN WIN A MILITARY VICTORY HERE.
BUT TO A VIETNAMESE PEASAN
WHOSE HOME MEANS A LIFETIME
OF BACKBREAKING LABOR,
it will take more than
presidential promises
to convince him that
we are on his side.
McCullough:
AMERICANS BEGAN TO QUESTION
THE CONDUCT OF THE WAR.
AT FIRST, THEIR NUMBERS
WERE SMALL
AND JOHNSON DISMISSED THEM.
BUT HE COULD NOT IGNORE WHA
WAS HAPPENING IN THE SENATE.
Man:
I STILL THINK THESE PRINCIPLES
UPON WHICH WE REST OUR POLICY
ARE SUBJECT TO VERY
SERIOUS QUESTION.
ALL I'M ASKING FOR
IS CLARIFICATION
OF WHAT OUR OBJECTIVE IS
IN THIS STRUGGLE.
McCullough:
FEBRUARY 1966
SENATOR WILLIAM FULBRIGHT BEGAN
TO HOLD TELEVISED HEARINGS.
FULBRIGHT HAD GUIDED
THE TONKIN GULF RESOLUTION
THROUGH AN OBEDIENT CONGRESS
ON BEHALF OF THE PRESIDENT.
NOW HE WAS LEADING SENATE
LIBERALS IN AN ANTIWAR REVOL
AGAINST THE WHITE HOUSE.
Man:
YOU CAN LOOK AT THE WAR
IN VIETNAM
AS A COVERT INVASION
OF THE SOUTH BY THE NORTH
OR YOU CAN LOOK AT I
AS BASICALLY AN INDIGENOUS WAR.
BUT EITHER WAY YOU LOOK AT IT,
IT'S A WAR BETWEEN VIETNAMESE
TO DETERMINE WHAT THE ULTIMATE
KIND OF GOVERNMEN
IS GOING TO BE FOR VIETNAM.
NOW, WHEN I WENT TO SCHOOL,
THAT WAS A CIVIL WAR.
Announcer:
We'll be back
with more of the stormy
Senate hearings
when ABC's Scope continues.
McCullough:
JOHNSON WAS FURIOUS.
HE BEGAN REFERRING TO FULBRIGH
AS "HALFBRIGHT"
AND CUT HIM OFF ENTIRELY.
THEIR 20-YEAR FRIENDSHIP
WAS OVER.
HE PLACED FULBRIGHT AND SEVERAL
OTHER SENATE LIBERALS
UNDER F.B.I. SURVEILLANCE.
JOHNSON RIDICULED HIS CRITICS.
HE CALLED THEM "CUT-AND-RUN
PEOPLE WITH NO GUTS."
"THEY'D RATHER FIGHT ME
THAN THE ENEMY."
HE WAS BEGINNING TO HUNKER DOWN,
ISOLATING HIMSELF FROM DISSENT.
(folk guitar music)
Tom Paxton (singing):
I GOT A LETTER FROM L.B.J.,
IT SAID THIS IS
YOUR LUCKY DAY ♪
TIME TO PUT YOUR
KHAKI TROUSERS ON ♪
WE'VE GOT A JOB
FOR YOU TO DO ♪
DEAN RUSK HAS CAUGH
THE ASIAN FLU ♪
AND WE ARE SENDING YOU
TO VIETNAM ♪
LYNDON JOHNSON TOLD THE NATION
"HAVE NO FEAR OF ESCALATION ♪
"I AM TRYING EVERYONE
TO PLEASE ♪
"THOUGH IT ISN'T REALLY WAR,
WE'RE SENDING 50,000 MORE ♪
TO HELP SAVE VIETNAM
FROM VIETNAMESE" ♪
McCullough:
JOHNSON HAD TAKEN
THE COUNTRY INTO WAR
AND KEPT THE AMERICAN PEOPLE
IN THE DARK.
NOW, AS THE FIGHTING ESCALATED,
MANY BEGAN TO CHALLENGE
THE MORALITY OF THE WAR.
I DIDN'T FULLY UNDERSTAND
WHY I WAS OPPOSED TO THE WAR
IN VIETNAM.
I JUST KNEW THAT IT WAS WRONG
FOR A GREAT, PROUD,
ABUNDANT NATION
TECHNOLOGICALLY SUPERIOR
TO ANYTHING IN THE WORLD
GOING IN AND CRUSHING
A PEASANT SOCIETY.
IN MY OPINION, IT WAS LIKE A
DECISION TO RELEASE THE FURIES.
I THINK THE THING
THAT THE ANTIWAR MOVEMEN
PROBABLY DIDN'T UNDERSTAND
IS THAT ONCE HE HAD MADE IT,
HE WASN'T GOING TO DRAW BACK.
JOHNSON ACTIVELY ARGUED WITH ME
THAT HE WAS TRAPPED,
THAT HE HAD TRIED TO DO
EVERYTHING TO BRING PEACE.
"I DON'T WANT PEOPLE TO THINK
I'M A COWARD," HE WOULD SAY.
"I DON'T WANT TO BE THE FIRS
PRESIDENT WHO'S LOST A WAR."
WELL, WHAT DOES IT MATTER IF
HE'S THE FIRST PRESIDEN
WHO'S LOST A WAR THAT SHOULDN'
BE FOUGHT ANYWAY?
Crowd (chanting):
END THE WAR IN VIETNAM,
BRING THE TROOPS HOME.
END THE WAR IN VIETNAM,
BRING THE TROOPS HOME.
END THE WAR IN VIETNAM,
BRING THE TROOPS HOME.
McCullough:
BY THE SUMMER OF 1966,
HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS
OF AMERICANS WERE IN VIETNAM.
STILL, HIS GENERALS
KEPT ASKING FOR MORE.
(explosion)
THOUSANDS WERE DEAD.
JOHNSON'S DREAM OF
A GREAT SOCIETY WAS IN DANGER.
AND THE END WAS
NOWHERE IN SIGHT.
McCullough:
IT WAS CALLED
THE GOLDEN CHALICE
THE MARRIAGE OF THE
PRESIDENT'S YOUNGER DAUGHTER,
LUCI BAINES JOHNSON.
ONE REPORTER SAID,
"NOBODY WAS INVITED
EXCEPT THE IMMEDIATE COUNTRY."
IT WAS AUGUST 6, 1966.
THERE WAS WAR IN VIETNAM
AND RIOTS IN THE STREETS.
BUT THERE WAS STILL MORE
JOHNSON HOPED TO DO.
WHAT HE WANTED WAS TIME TIME
TO BUILD HIS "GREAT SOCIETY."
"WE CAN'T QUIT NOW,"
HE TOLD AN AIDE.
"THIS MAY BE
THE LAST CHANCE WE HAVE."
BUT TIME WAS RUNNING OUT.
OVER FOUR LONG, HOT SUMMERS,
RIOTS HAD BECOME A BRUTAL
FACT OF AMERICAN LIFE.
JOHNSON LOOKED HELPLESSLY ON
AS MORE THAN 150 CITIES
WENT UP IN FLAMES.
DETROIT WAS THE WORST:
43 DEAD, 7,000 ARRESTED,
1,300 BUILDINGS DESTROYED.
JOHNSON DISPATCHED
ARMY PARATROOPERS
AND PREPARED TO SEND HIS OWN
TASK FORCE TO INVESTIGATE.
AS PART OF THE TASK FORCE,
ROGER WILKINS WAS THERE
AS THE PRESIDENT ISSUED
HIS FINAL INSTRUCTIONS.
WELL, HE STARTED IN A LOW KEY.
"I DON'T WANT ANY
BULLETS IN THOSE GUNS.
(louder):
"YOU HEAR ME? I DON'
WANT ANY BULLETS IN THOSE GUNS!
"YOU HEAR ME, GENTLEMEN? I DON'
WANT BULLETS IN THOSE GUNS!
"I DON'T WANT IT KNOWN
THAT ANY ONE OF MY MEN
SHOT A PREGNANT NIG"
AND HE LOOKED AT ME
AND HIS FACE GOT RED.
"WELL, I DON'T
NO BULLETS IN THE GUNS!"
BUT HE WAS CLEARLY EMBARRASSED,
AND EVERYBODY IN THE ROOM WAS
EMBARRASSED,
SO THEN HE TOLD US
TO GO HOME AND PACK
AND GET AN AIR FORCE PLANE
TO GO TO DETROIT.
AND AS WE WERE LEAVING,
HE CALLED ME AND HE SAID,
"COME IN HERE, ROGER,"
AND I WENT INTO
HIS OFFICE WITH HIM.
HE DIDN'T SAY ANYTHING.
I KNEW HE WANTED TO SAY,
"I DIDN'T MEAN TO SAY 'NIGGER, '"
BUT HE MEANT TO SAY "NIGGER"
AND I KNEW HE WANTED
TO SAY, "I APOLOGIZE."
HE DIDN'T KNOW HOW TO SAY I
AND SO HE WALKED ME OVER
TO THE FRENCH DOORS
THAT WENT OUT TO THE ROSE
GARDEN, AND IT'S THE AREA
WHERE EISENHOWER HAD
HAD HIS PUTTING GREEN.
AND HE LOOKED OUT AND HE LOOKED
AT ME AND HE LOOKED DOWN.
AND THERE ARE POCK MARKS
ON THE FLOOR
WHERE EISENHOWER'S
GOLF SHOES HAD HIT THE FLOOR,
AND HE FINALLY LOOKED
AT ME AND HE SAID,
"LOOK WHAT THAT SON OF A BITCH
DID TO MY FLOOR!"
AND THEN HE PATTED ME
ON THE BACK AND SAID,
"HAVE A NICE TRIP," AND THAT WAS
HIS WAY OF APOLOGIZING.
IT WAS VERY HUMAN, I THOUGHT.
(siren wailing)
Johnson:
WE WILL NOT TOLERATE
LAWLESSNESS.
WE WILL NOT ENDURE VIOLENCE.
IT MATTERS NO
BY WHOM IT IS DONE
OR UNDER WHAT SLOGAN OR BANNER.
IT WILL NOT BE TOLERATED.
PILLAGE, LOOTING,
MURDER AND ARSON
HAVE NOTHING TO DO
WITH CIVIL RIGHTS.
THEY ARE CRIMINAL CONDUCT.
Malafronte:
THE ANTI-POVERTY PROGRAM
EVAPORATED
IN THE RIOTING OF '66-67.
AND WITH THE PRESSURE ON JOHNSON
TO ESTABLISH ORDER
IN THE STREETS,
THIS WAS NOT THE MAN
IN FRONT OF CONGRESS
SAYING, "WE'VE GOT TO DO MORE";
IT WAS A MAN CONCERNED AND UPSE
AND MAYBE WORRIED
ABOUT HIS POLITICAL FUTURE
AND ON THE PHONE
TO THE GOVERNOR SAYING,
"DAMN IT, CRACK DOWN
ON THOSE PEOPLE."
WHAT HAPPENED IS, WE WERE ALL
OVERWHELMED BY THE TIMES.
SO WAS HE.
McCullough:
THE MOOD OF THE COUNTRY
HAD CHANGED.
MANY AMERICANS BEGAN TALKING
ABOUT LAW AND ORDER.
JOHNSON WAS ACCUSED
OF FORCING RACIAL EQUALITY
AND NEGLECTING THE NEEDS
OF MIDDLE-CLASS WHITE AMERICANS.
HE WAS CAUGHT BETWEEN
THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMEN
AND A GROWING BACKLASH
OF FEAR AND RESENTMENT.
THE COUNTRY BEGAN
TO GET OUT OF CONTROL
AND PRESIDENT JOHNSON WAS
NO LONGER IN CONTROL
OF THE CONGRESS.
THE ECONOMY WAS
CREATING PROBLEMS FOR HIM;
THE WAR IN VIETNAM
WAS BEING LOST;
AND UNFORTUNATELY
I'M AFRAID THAT INSTEAD
OF BLAMING ALL THOSE FORCES,
HE TENDED TO BLAME US.
AND THE IRONY OF IT WAS
THAT WE WERE PROBABLY
THE BEST FRIENDS THAT HE HAD.
(bombs exploding)
McCullough:
ON JANUARY 5, 1967,
LADY BIRD JOHNSON
WROTE IN HER DIARY,
"A MIASMA OF TROUBLE
HANGS OVER EVERYTHING."
AMERICAN PLANES
HAD ALREADY STRUCK
MOST OF THE IMPORTAN
TARGETS IN NORTH VIETNAM
BY THE END OF 1967.
SEVERAL TIMES JOHNSON ORDERED
A HALT IN THE BOMBING
AND WAITED FOR
A RESPONSE FROM HO.
NONE CAME.
JOHNSON'S GENERALS THOUGH
HE WAS TOO CAUTIOUS
STAYING THEIR HAND,
PREVENTING THEM FROM USING
AMERICA'S ENORMOUS FIREPOWER
TO FORCE A VICTORY.
BUT JOHNSON WAS TORMENTED
BY A PERSISTENT NIGHTMARE:
THE FEAR OF TRIGGERING
WORLD WAR III.
"IN THE DARK AT NIGHT," HE SAID,
"I WOULD LAY AWAKE PICTURING MY
BOYS FLYING AROUND NORTH VIETNAM
"ASKING MYSELF, 'WHAT IF ONE
OF THOSE TARGETS YOU PICK TODAY
TRIGGERS OFF RUSSIA OR CHINA?'"
JOHNSON SPENT MANY HOURS
PERSONALLY SELECTING
WHERE THE BOMBS SHOULD FALL.
Bundy:
HE GOT MORE UPSET ABOUT THINGS
AND MORE WORRIED ABOU
CONSTANTLY FOLLOWING IT,
GETTING THE LATEST STATISTICS,
UNRELIABLE AS WE KNEW THEY WERE.
Reedy:
I REMEMBER ONCE IN A MEETING
WHERE THE DEFENSE DEPARTMEN
WAS BRIEFING
AND THE FIGURES DIDN'T SEEM
TO JIBE TO ME AT ALL.
IT SOUNDED TO ME AS THOUGH
THEY'D KILLED
TEN TIMES AS MANY PEOPLE
AS HAD LIVED IN VIETNAM
OVER A PERIOD OF TWO CENTURIES.
AND I SLIPPED HIM A NOTE,
TO ASK A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS,
A PRACTICE THAT WE'D BEEN
ENGAGING IN
EVER SINCE I'D WORKED FOR HIM.
BOY, I GOT THE DIRTIEST LOOK:
NO MORE OF THIS.
THAT WAS THE LAST TIME
I TRIED IT,
BECAUSE I REALIZED
IT WAS HOPELESS.
AND SINCE OUR COMMITMEN
OF MAJOR FORCES IN JULY '65,
THE PROPORTION OF THE POPULATION
LIVING UNDER COMMUNIST CONTROL
HAS BEEN REDUCED
TO WELL UNDER 20%.
Katzenbach:
I AM NOT SURE
THAT HE DIDN'T THINK
HE WAS TELLING THE TRUTH.
HE HAD A CAPACITY FOR
SELF-DECEPTION ABOUT FACTS
THAT WAS TEN TIMES THE CAPACITY
OF ANYBODY ELSE I'VE EVER MET.
Johnson:
AND IN THE CONTESTED AREAS,
THE TIDE
CONTINUES TO RUN WITH US.
EVERYTHING WOULD COME AROUND
INTO HIS WAY HE FEL
COMFORTABLE LOOKING AT IT,
WHETHER THAT HAD ANY
RELATIONSHIP TO WHAT WENT ON
OR NOT.
THE CAMPAIGNS OF THE LAST YEAR
DROVE THE ENEMY
FROM MANY OF THEIR
MAJOR INTERIOR BASES.
McCullough:
WHEN JOHNSON CONTINUED TO INSIS
THAT AMERICA WAS MAKING
PROGRESS,
FEWER AND FEWER PEOPLE
BELIEVED HIM.
NO ONE DIRECTLY ACCUSED
THE PRESIDENT OF LYING.
THEY CALLED I
"THE CREDIBILITY GAP."
HE WAS SO USED TO USING WORDS
AS A MEANS OF PERSUASION
TO GET SOMEBODY TO DO SOMETHING;
SO USED TO TALKING
TO SEVEN DIFFERENT PEOPLE,
TELLING THEM SEVEN
DIFFERENT THINGS
SO THAT THEY WOULD
ALL COME TOGETHER
TO DO WHAT HE WANTED,
THAT LYING AND PERSUASION
WERE ALL PAR
OF THE SAME THING FOR HIM.
AND I DON'T THINK
HE EVEN KNEW THE TRUTH.
I'M NOT SURE THERE WAS
TRUTH FOR HIM.
TRUTH WAS THE ACTION,
THE PRODUCT.
THE MEANS DIDN'T MATTER
HOW YOU GOT THERE.
BUT WHEN YOU'RE PRESIDEN
AND YOU MAKE STATEMENTS
AND THOSE STATEMENTS
ARE THEN PICKED UP
AND THEY'RE PUT ON TELEVISION,
YOU'RE NOT JUST TALKING
TO SEVEN DIFFEREN
SOUTHERNERS AND NORTHERNERS
WHO WILL NEVER SPEAK
TO ONE ANOTHER.
SUDDENLY, YOU GET THIS
CREDIBILITY GAP,
BECAUSE PEOPLE HOLD YOU
TO YOUR STATEMENTS.
Crowd (chanting):
HEY, HEY, L.B.J
HOW MANY KIDS
DID YOU KILL TODAY?
HEY, HEY, L.B.J
McCullough:
VIETNAM HAD BECOME LYNDON
JOHNSON'S WAR
AND THE DEMONSTRATIONS
TURNED PERSONAL.
Man:
AS BURNS STUMBLED
OUT OF THAT BUNKER,
DAZED, WITH BLOOD ON HIM,
HE DIDN'T MUMBLE,
"THOSE BASTARD VIETCONG."
HE DIDN'T MUMBLE,
"THOSE BASTARD COMMUNISTS."
HE DIDN'T MUMBLE,
"THOSE SLOPE-EYED BASTARDS."
HE MUMBLED ONLY
ONE THING OVER AND OVER:
"THAT BASTARD JOHNSON!
THAT BASTARD JOHNSON!"
(chanting):
HEY, HEY, L.B.J
HOW MANY
KIDS DID YOU KILL TODAY?
HEY, HEY, L.B.J HOW MANY
KIDS DID YOU KILL TODAY?
HE DIDN'T UNDERSTAND IT.
HE WAS TOTALLY
AND COMPLETELY BAFFLED BY IT.
FOR ONE THING,
THE WHITE HOUSE WAS LOADED
WITH VERY YOUNG PEOPLE.
HE WOULD ALWAYS SEE THEM
CORRECTLY DRESSED,
PERFECTLY GROOMED, PROPER,
AND TO HIM,
THIS MUST BE AMERICAN YOUTH
AND THEREFORE, HE DIDN'T KNOW
WHO THOSE PEOPLE WERE
OUTSIDE THE GATES.
WERE THEY EXTRATERRESTRIAL?
WHERE DID THEY COME FROM?
Crowd:
HEY, HEY, L.B.J HOW MANY KIDS
DID YOU KILL TODAY?
I THINK HE WOULD
HAVE BEEN ASTOUNDED
IF HE HAD KNOWN WHEN THEY
HAD THE MARCH ON WASHINGTON
THAT A BUNCH OF KIDS WERE
SLEEPING IN MY HOUSE
ON THE FLOOR
AND A BUNCH OF KIDS
WERE SLEEPING
IN BOB McNAMARA'S HOUSE
ON THE FLOOR.
WE NEVER TOLD THE PRESIDEN
THAT OUR CHILDREN
FELT AS THEY DID
ABOUT THE WAR IN VIETNAM,
AND HE PROBABLY WOULDN'
HAVE UNDERSTOOD IT.
I THINK HE PROBABLY
SUSPECTED LEFT-WING PLOTS
THAT SORT OF THING.
Ball:
HE SAID, "GEORGE, DON'T PAY
ANY ATTENTION
"TO ALL THESE
KIDS ON THE CAMPUS.
"THEY'LL STOMP AROUND
AND MAKE A LOT OF NOISE.
"WHAT REALLY MATTERS
"WHAT IS THE GREAT BLACK BEAS
THAT WE HAVE TO FEAR
IS THE RIGHT WING."
HE WAS FRUSTRATED
BECAUSE HE COULDN'T END I
AND BECAUSE HE THOUGH
HE COULDN'T WIN IT.
AND I KEPT TRYING TO PLEAD
WITH HIM TO END IT, TO WIN IT
TO END IT BY WINNING IT.
AND I SAID, "IF YOU HAVE TO BLOW
HANOI OFF THE FACE OF THE EARTH,
BLOW IT OFF
THE FACE OF THE EARTH."
HE SAID, "I CAN'T DO THAT,
I CAN'T DO THAT.
"THEY TELL ME WE'RE WINNING,
WE'RE GOING TO WIN THIS THING.
I CAN'T USE ULTIMATE POWER."
I SAID, "WHY CAN'T YOU?
"I DON'T CARE WHAT ADVICE
YOU'RE GETTING FROM WHOM.
"IT'S TOO SLOW,
THE WAR'S TOO SLOW.
"YOU'RE NOT WINNING THE WAR.
YOU'RE LOSING THE BATTLE AT HOME
AND IT'S GOING TO DESTROY YOU."
Katzenbach:
THERE WERE NO GOOD CHOICES
THAT ANYBODY COULD DEVISE
AS TO HOW YOU WERE GOING
TO GET OUT OF VIETNAM
AND STILL HAVE AN HONORABLE
PEACE OR SOMETHING OF THAT KIND.
THE CHOICES THAT YOU HAD
WERE ALL SKEWED TOWARDS,
"DO I SEND IN MORE TROOPS?
"DO I KEEP THE SAME
TROOPS IN THERE?
"DO I DO MORE BOMBING?
"DO I PUT ON MORE PRESSURE?
"IN WHAT KIND OF CHEAP WAY
CAN I PUT IT ON?
"WHAT ARE THE RISKS
OF CHINA COMING IN?
SHOULD I BOMB IN CAMBODIA?"
THEY WERE ALL HAWKISH CHOICES
BECAUSE THERE REALLY WASN'
ANYTHING ON THE OTHER SIDE
THAT YOU COULD DEVISE.
WE HAD MORE THAN
HALF A MILLION MEN THERE.
HOW ARE YOU GOING
TO GET THEM OUT?
Martin Luther King:
THE BOMBS IN VIETNAM EXPLODE
AT HOME.
THEY DESTROY THE DREAM
AND POSSIBILITY
FOR A DECENT AMERICA.
IT IS ESTIMATED
THAT WE SPEND $322,000
FOR EACH ENEMY
WE KILL IN VIETNAM
WHILE WE SPEND IN THE SO-CALLED
WAR ON POVERTY IN AMERICA
ONLY ABOUT $53 FOR EACH
PERSON CLASSIFIED AS POOR.
Connally:
I ARGUED WITH HIM A GREAT DEAL.
I SAID, "YOU KNOW, YOU'RE WRONG.
"YOU'RE TELLING
THE AMERICAN PEOPLE
THAT THEY CAN HAVE
GUNS AND BUTTER."
AND I SAID, "THAT'S WRONG.
"THIS WAR IS COSTING
AN AWFUL LOT OF MONEY
AND YOU CAN'T HAVE, YOU
SHOULDN'T HAVE GUNS AND BUTTER."
Shriver:
THE WAR AGAINST POVERTY
WAS KILLED BY THE WAR
IN VIETNAM.
FIRST OF ALL, BECAUSE
OF THE LACK OF MONEY.
SECONDLY, IT STOPPED
BECAUSE OF PREOCCUPATION
WITH THE SHOOTING WAR
AND THE KILLING FIELDS
OF THAT WAR.
DEATH AND DESTRUCTION
AND BOMBING AND ALL THA
CAPTURES THE PUBLIC IMAGINATION
MUCH MORE THAN CREATING
SOMETHING THAT'S GOOD.
BIRTH IS NEVER
DRAMATIZED LIKE DEATH.
McCullough:
THE RAIDS OVER
NORTH VIETNAM CONTINUED
UNTIL MORE TONS OF BOMBS
WERE DROPPED ON VIETNAM
THAN HAD BEEN DROPPED
DURING ALL OF WORLD WAR II.
STILL, HO RESISTED.
"HANOI AND OTHER CITIES
MAY BE DESTROYED,"
HO TOLD HIS COUNTRYMEN,
"BUT THE VIETNAMESE PEOPLE
WILL NOT BE INTIMIDATED."
Thomson:
THE VIETNAMESE, HAD WE BOMBED
THEM TO THE STONE AGE,
WOULD HAVE GONE BACK INTO
THE JUNGLE, WAITED US OUT.
THEY KNEW SOMETHING
THAT WE ALSO KNEW
BUT DIDN'T ACKNOWLEDGE
AND THAT WAS THAT SOMEDAY WE
WOULD GO HOME
AND THEY COULD COME BACK AND
REBUILD WHAT WE HAD DESTROYED.
I THINK I MADE
TWO MISTAKES IN JUDGMENT.
ONE WAS THAT I UNDERESTIMATED
THE TENACITY OF
THE NORTH VIETNAMESE.
AND I THINK I OVERESTIMATED
THE PATIENCE OF
THE AMERICAN PEOPLE.
McCullough:
BY THE END OF 1967,
A GRIM SENSE OF SIEGE WAS
SETTLING OVER THE WHITE HOUSE.
THE PRESIDENT DUG IN.
HE HAD SPENT A LIFETIME CLIMBING
TO THE PINNACLE OF POWER.
HIS WHOLE POLITICAL LIFE NOW
HUNG ON ONLY ONE ISSUE: VIETNAM.
HE DECIDED TO CALL IN
THE MEN WHOM HE RESPECTED MOST.
THEY BECAME KNOWN
AS "THE WISE MEN."
THERE WERE ABOUT TEN OF THEM.
IF YOU PUT THE TOTAL SERVICE,
THOSE MEN MUST HAVE HAD
250 TO 300 YEARS
OF GOVERNMENT SERVICE.
McCullough:
THESE WERE THE ARCHITECTS
OF AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY:
DEAN ACHESON
JOHN McCLOY
AVERELL HARRIMAN.
"CONTAIN COMMUNISM,
DON'T LET IT SPREAD,"
HAD BEEN THEIR ADVICE
TO EVERY PRESIDENT SINCE TRUMAN.
THE PICTURE THA
WAS GIVEN TO THEM
WAS THAT WE WERE MAKING
SLOW, GRINDING PROGRESS
AND WE THOUGHT WE COULD SEE,
AT SOME POINT, A BREAK
WITH THE OTHER SIDE STARTING TO
REALLY WEAKEN AND GO DOWNHILL.
McCullough:
DEAN ACHESON SAID LATER,
"I TOLD HIM HE WAS
WHOLLY RIGHT ON VIETNAM,
THAT HE HAD NO CHOICE
EXCEPT TO PRESS ON."
THEY VOTED UNANIMOUSLY FOR HIM
TO GO ON WITH HIS COURSE.
HE WAS GREATLY
COMFORTED BY THAT.
Bundy:
THE ADVICE THEY GAVE WAS,
"THE COUNTRY DOESN'T SEE I
THE WAY YOU'RE DESCRIBING IT.
"YOU'VE GOT TO DEVELOP A WAY
TO MAKE YOUR ASSESSMENTS OF THE
SITUATION MORE CREDIBLE."
THEY GAVE HIM
PERFECTLY SILLY ADVICE.
THEY WERE SENSIBLE PEOPLE,
AND WHY THEY WERE SO SILLY,
I DON'T KNOW.
THE MAIN ADVICE WAS,
"YOU OUGHT TO
IMPROVE YOUR PUBLIC RELATIONS."
WELL, AFTER THE MEETING,
I SPOKE TO DEAN ACHESON
AND JOHN COLES AND ARTHUR DEAN
AND I SAID, "YOU OLD BASTARDS.
"YOU OUGHT TO BE ASHAMED
OF YOURSELF.
"YOU'RE LIKE A LO
OF VULTURES SITTING ON THE FENCE
AND SENDING
THE YOUNG MEN OUT TO DIE,"
AND I WALKED OUT OF THE ROOM.
McCullough:
JOHNSON HAD EXPANDED
THE WAR IN SECRET.
NOW HE SET OUT TO SELL I
TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE.
Johnson:
WE ARE MAKING PROGRESS.
WE ARE PLEASED WITH
THE RESULTS THAT WE'RE GETTING.
I THINK WE'RE
MOVING MORE LIKE THIS
AND I THINK THEY'RE
MOVING MORE LIKE THIS
INSTEAD OF STRAIGHT UP
AND STRAIGHT DOWN.
McCullough:
HE CALLED HOME
THE COMMANDER
OF U.S. FORCES IN VIETNAM,
GENERAL WILLIAM WESTMORELAND,
FOR A ROUND OF
WELL-PUBLICIZED MEETINGS
AND PRESS CONFERENCES.
Westmoreland:
THE ENEMY IS BEING
PROGRESSIVELY WEAKENED.
THE VIETNAMESE ARMED FORCES
AND THE GOVERNMENT AS A WHOLE
IS BEING STRENGTHENED.
Man:
THE GLOWING REPORTS ALWAYS CAME
BACK FROM THE PENTAGON:
"HEY, JUST A LITTLE MORE.
"WE'RE WINNING THIS WAR;
IT'S ALMOST OVER.
WE CAN SEE THE LIGH
AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL."
McCullough:
IN THE MIDDLE OF DECEMBER,
WITH REPORTERS AND
TELEVISION CAMERAS IN TOW,
THE PRESIDENT TOOK OFF
ACROSS THE PACIFIC.
JOHNSON WAS INSPIRED
BY THE PHOTO OPPORTUNITY,
BUT HE WAS ALSO MOVED
BY AMERICA'S FIGHTING MEN.
"WE'RE NOT GOING
TO YIELD," HE TOLD THEM,
"AND WE'RE NOT GOING TO SHIMMY."
Johnson:
THE ENEMY IS NOT BEATEN,
BUT HE KNOWS THAT HE HAS
MET HIS MASTER IN THE FIELD.
HE IS TRYING TO BUY TIME,
HOPING THAT OUR NATION,
THAT OUR NATION'S WILL,
DOES NOT MATCH HIS WILL.
McCullough:
AFTER JUST A FEW HOURS
IN VIETNAM,
THE PRESIDENT WAS ON HIS WAY
TO PAKISTAN AND THEN ROME.
IT WAS LIKE
A CAMPAIGN TOUR OF OLD.
JOHNSON PAID A SURPRISE
VISIT TO THE VATICAN,
WHERE HE ASSURED POPE PAUL VI
OF HIS DESIRE FOR PEACE.
HIS HOLINESS
PRESENTED THE PRESIDEN
WITH A 14th-CENTURY PAINTING.
THE PRESIDENT RECIPROCATED
WITH A FOOT-HIGH
PLASTIC BUST OF HIMSELF.
THE 27,000-MILE,
FOUR-DAY JOURNEY
HAD BUOYED JOHNSON'S HOPES.
HE WANTED DESPERATELY TO BELIEVE
THAT AMERICA HAD TURNED
THE CORNER IN VIETNAM;
THAT THERE WAS LIGH
AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL.
AND THEN TET CAME.
TET, TO ME, WAS
THE ROOF FALLING IN.
McCullough:
AMERICA WATCHED
AS SOUTH VIETNAM EXPLODED.
ON THE FIRST DAY OF THE
VIETNAMESE HOLIDAY KNOWN AS TET,
THE NORTH VIETNAMESE
AND VIETCONG
CAUGHT AMERICAN FORCES
BY SURPRISE.
FIVE OF THE SIX LARGEST CITIES
AND NEARLY A QUARTER
OF THE DISTRICT CAPITALS
CAME SUDDENLY UNDER ATTACK.
THE ILLUSION OF PROGRESS
WAS SHATTERED.
Reporter:
WHAT'S THE HARDEST PART OF IT?
Soldier:
NOT KNOWING WHERE THEY ARE;
THAT'S THE WORST.
RIDE AROUND, THEY RUN INTO
THE SEWERS, GUTTERS, ANYWHERE.
JUST HOPE YOU CAN
STAY ALIVE FROM DAY TO DAY.
I JUST WANT TO GO
BACK HOME, GO TO SCHOOL.
Reporter:
HAVE YOU LOST ANY FRIENDS?
Soldier:
QUITE A FEW;
WE LOST ONE THE OTHER DAY.
THIS WHOLE THING STINKS, REALLY.
(child crying)
McCullough:
THE TET OFFENSIVE WENT ON
FOR MORE THAN THREE WEEKS.
WHEN IT WAS OVER,
THE VIETCONG HAD LOST THOUSANDS
OF EXPERIENCED SOLDIERS
AND FAILED TO PROVOKE
A POPULAR UPRISING.
BUT BY NOW, JOHNSON HAD MISLED
THE AMERICAN PEOPLE SO OFTEN
THAT WHEN HE TOLD THE TRUTH,
FEW BELIEVED HIM.
Johnson:
THE BIGGEST FACT IS
THAT THE STATED PURPOSES
OF THE GENERAL UPRISING
A MILITARY VICTORY
OR A PSYCHOLOGICAL VICTORY
HAVE FAILED.
Katzenbach:
THERE IS AN INSTANCE
WHERE THE CREDIBILITY
GAP REALLY HURT,
BECAUSE I THINK
EVERYBODY WAS CONVINCED
THAT TET HAD BEEN
A VERY SERIOUS DEFEA
FOR NORTH VIETNAM
AND FOR THE VIETCONG,
AND THERE WAS JUST NO WAY
YOU COULD PERSUADE THE AMERICAN
PUBLIC THAT THAT WAS THE FACT.
WELL, IT SEEMS NOW
MORE CERTAIN THAN EVER
THAT THE BLOODY
EXPERIENCE OF VIETNAM
IS TO END IN A STALEMATE.
THIS SUMMER'S ALMOST CERTAIN
STANDOFF WILL EITHER END
IN REAL GIVE-AND-TAKE
NEGOTIATIONS
OR TERRIBLE ESCALATION.
McCullough:
WALTER CRONKITE,
THE VETERAN NEWSCASTER
WHO HAD BEEN CALLED "THE MOS
TRUSTED MAN IN AMERICA,"
ONCE SUPPORTED THE WAR;
TET CHANGED HIS MIND.
Cronkite:
AND FOR EVERY MEANS
WE HAVE TO ESCALATE,
THE ENEMY CAN MATCH US,
AND THAT APPLIES
TO INVASION OF THE NORTH,
THE USE OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS
OR THE MERE COMMITMEN
OF 100,000 OR 200,000
OR 300,000 MORE AMERICAN
TROOPS TO THE BATTLE.
AND WITH EACH ESCALATION
THE WORLD COMES CLOSER
TO THE BRINK OF COSMIC DISASTER.
McCullough:
JOHNSON FELT MORE
AND MORE ALONE.
MANY OF THOSE CLOSES
TO HIM HAD RESIGNED
HIS PRESS SECRETARY,
HIS SPECIAL ASSISTANT,
HIS PERSONAL AIDES AND ADVISORS.
AND NOW THE AIDE HE HAD CALLED
"THE MOST COMPETEN
MAN I EVER KNEW,
THE MOST OBJECTIVE
MAN I EVER MET"
ONE OF THE ORIGINAL ARCHITECTS
OF THE WAR, ROBERT McNAMARA
WAS LEAVING.
ON FEBRUARY 28,
EXHAUSTED AND DISILLUSIONED,
JOHNSON'S SECRETARY
OF DEFENSE SAID GOOD-BYE.
McNamara:
MR. PRESIDENT
(clearing throat)
(in broken voice):
I CANNOT FIND WORDS TO
EXPRESS WHAT LIES
IN MY HEART TODAY
AND I THINK I'D BETTER
RESPOND ON ANOTHER OCCASION.
(applause)
McCullough:
"THE PRESSURE GOT SO GREAT,
BOB COULDN'T SLEEP AT NIGHT,"
JOHNSON SAID LATER.
"I LOVED HIM
AND I DIDN'T WANT TO LET HIM GO,
"BUT HE WAS JUS
SHORT OF CRACKING.
"TWO MONTHS BEFORE HE LEFT,
HE FELT HE WAS A MURDERER
"AND DIDN'T KNOW
HOW TO EXTRICATE HIMSELF.
I NEVER FELT LIKE A MURDERER;
THAT'S THE DIFFERENCE."
(applause)
McCullough:
MARCH 1, 1968.
CLARK CLIFFORD
REPLACED ROBERT McNAMARA
AS SECRETARY OF DEFENSE.
Clifford:
I, CLARK M. CLIFFORD
McCullough:
HALF A MILLION AMERICANS
WERE ALREADY IN VIETNAM
AND WESTMORELAND
WANTED 200,000 MORE.
CLIFFORD CONFRONTED
THE PENTAGON.
Clifford:
I'D SAY,
"ARE WE NEARING THE END
OF THE WAR IN VIETNAM?"
"WE DO NOT KNOW."
"DO WE HAVE ENOUGH MEN
IN VIETNAM NOW?"
"WE DO NOT KNOW."
"IS THE BOMBING
BEING EFFECTIVE?"
"WELL, IN A LIMITED WAY."
I GOT DOWN FINALLY WHEN I SAID,
"NOW, WHAT IS THE PLAN
FOR VICTORY IN VIETNAM?"
YOU KNOW WHAT?
WE DIDN'T HAVE ANY.
IT'S PROBABLY THE FIRST TIME
IN THE CAREER OF ANY OF THEM
THAT WE'D EVER FOUGHT A WAR
IN THE JUNGLES OF THAT KIND.
FIREPOWER DIDN'T MEAN ANYTHING.
I REMEMBER HEARING A GENERAL;
HE SAID, "DAMN THEM
THEY WOULDN'
COME OUT AND FIGHT."
Johnson:
MAKE NO MISTAKE ABOUT IT
I DON'T WANT A MAN IN HERE
TO GO BACK HOME
THINKING OTHERWISE.
WE ARE GOING TO WIN.
Clifford:
HE WAS GOING THROUGH
AN AGONIZING PERIOD.
WE MET DAILY.
I FELT IT WAS MY TASK TO
DO EVERYTHING IN MY POWER
TO PERSUADE THE PRESIDEN
TO CHANGE OUR POLICY IN VIETNAM.
I NEEDED TIME TO MAKE EVERY
EFFORT TO REVERSE THE PROCESS
THAT HAD BEEN GOING
ON SINCE 1965, YOU SEE.
IT'S LIKE THIS GREAT TRAIN;
YOU JUST CAN'T SUDDENLY
PUT IT IN REVERSE.
YOU HAVE TO KIND OF
BRING IT TO A STOP.
STARTING IN AT THESE MEETINGS
AND BIT BY BIT BY BIT,
POINTING OUT THE DISAPPOINTMENTS
ONE AFTER ANOTHER
THAT HAD OCCURRED;
THE REPORTS THA
WE WERE PREVAILING
WHEN IT TURNED OU
THAT WE WEREN'T
EACH TIME HACKING AWAY.
BY THAT TIME MAYBE WE'D LOS
20,000 MEN OUT THERE,
HAD SPENT TENS OF
BILLIONS OF DOLLARS
OF OUR COUNTRY'S TREASURE.
IT'S ALMOST BEYOND HUMAN
CAPACITY AT THAT TIME
TO SAY, "WE'VE BEEN WRONG."
Reedy:
SUPPOSE THAT YOU ARE
THE PRESIDEN
OF THE UNITED STATES
AND YOU GIVE SOME ORDERS
AND SOME MEN GET KILLED.
YOU AREN'T GOING
TO SAY TO YOURSELF
AND I MEAN TO YOURSELF,
LATE AT NIGHT
"THOSE MEN ARE DEAD BECAUSE
I WAS A DAMNED SLOB."
YOU'RE GOING TO SAY, "THOSE
MEN DIED IN A NOBLE CAUSE
AND WE'VE GOT TO SEE
THEY DIDN'T DIE IN VAIN."
SO YOU SEND MORE MEN
TO VINDICATE THEIR DEATH.
McCullough:
"EVERY NIGHT WHEN I FELL
ASLEEP," JOHNSON SAID,
"I WOULD SEE MYSELF TIED
TO THE GROUND
"IN THE MIDDLE OF
A LONG, OPEN SPACE.
"IN THE DISTANCE I COULD HEAR
"THE VOICES OF
THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE.
"THEY WERE ALL SHOUTING AT ME
AND RUNNING TOWARD ME
"'COWARD, TRAITOR, WEAKLING!'
"THEY KEPT COMING CLOSER.
"THEY BEGAN THROWING STONES.
AT EXACTLY THAT MOMEN
I WOULD WAKE UP."
Reedy:
AROUND MIDNIGHT, 1:00, 2:00,
THE CASUALTY REPORTS
WOULD START COMING IN.
HE WOULD WAKE UP AUTOMATICALLY
AND CALL THE SITUATION ROOM
OR SOMETIMES WANDER DOWN THERE,
WHERE HE COULD GE
THE DIRECT FIGURES.
THE MAN BECAME HAUNTED BY IT.
Cater:
WE WERE WORKING
IT WAS AROUND 9:30 AT NIGHT
AND SUDDENLY THE PRESIDEN
CAME INTO THE ROOM.
AND WE ALL STOOD UP.
AND HE SAID
A VERY STRANGE THING;
HE SAID, "WHERE
ARE YOU SITTING?"
WELL, HE HAD NEVER ASKED
THAT QUESTION BEFORE.
HE WOULD SIT DOWN IN ANY
CHAIR THAT HE WANTED TO
AND WE WOULD RESEAT OURSELVES
TO ACCOMMODATE
WHERE HE WAS SITTING.
BUT WE FOUND A SEA
FOR HIM AND HE SAT DOWN
AND HE JUST LOOKED LIKE SUNK.
AND HE SAID, "I DON'
KNOW WHAT TO DO.
"IF I PUT IN MORE BOYS,
THERE'LL BE MORE KILLING.
"IF I TAKE OUT BOYS,
THERE'LL BE MORE KILLING.
ANYTHING I DO, THERE'S
GOING TO BE MORE KILLING."
AND HE JUST SAT THERE,
AND THEN HE GOT UP AND LEFT.
Crowd (chanting):
HEY, HEY, L.B.J
HOW MANY
KIDS HAVE YOU KILLED TODAY?
Valenti:
THE PRESIDENCY BECAME
A BURDEN THAT EACH DAY BECAME
MORE DIFFICULT TO BEAR.
THE FURROWS IN THE FACE
WERE DEEPER.
THE EYES WERE SADDER.
AND IT WAS ALMOS
VISIBLY APPAREN
THAT THIS WAR WAS BREAKING THIS
EXTRAORDINARY, FORMIDABLE MAN
WHO HAD NEVER
BEEN BROKEN BEFORE.
Dugger:
WITH THE TURNING OF
THE COUNTRY AGAINST HIM,
HIS ENTRAPMENT IN THE WAR,
HIS INABILITY TO WIN I
WITHOUT SIMPLY WIPING VIETNAM
OFF THE MAP,
I THOUGHT JOHNSON HAD
BECOME SOMEWHAT UNSTABLE.
(chanting):
HELL NO, WE WON'T GO!
HELL NO, WE WON'T GO!
HELL NO, WE WON'T GO!
HELL NO, WE WON'T GO!
HELL NO, WE WON'T GO!
HELL NO, WE WON'T GO!
HELL NO, WE WON'T GO!
Rusk:
IN 1968 IT BECAME APPARENT TO US
THAT AN AWFUL LOT OF PEOPLE
AT THE GRASS ROOTS
HAD FINALLY DECIDED THA
IF WE COULD NOT TELL THEM
WHEN THE WAR WAS GOING TO BE
OVER, WE MIGHT AS WELL CHUCK IT.
(crowd yelling)
McCullough:
IN THE MIDST OF HIS DESPAIR
OVER VIETNAM,
JOHNSON WAS FORCED TO COPE WITH
THE 1968 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION.
I AM ANNOUNCING TODAY
MY CANDIDACY
FOR THE PRESIDENCY
OF THE UNITED STATES.
I DO NOT RUN FOR THE PRESIDENCY
MERELY TO OPPOSE ANY MAN
BUT TO PROPOSE NEW POLICY.
Wilkins:
THE THING THAT THE PRESIDEN
REALLY HATED
WAS THE IDEA THAT HE WOULD BE
THE MISTAKE
BETWEEN THE KENNEDYS,
THAT HE WOULD BE VIEWED AS THE
MISTAKE BETWEEN THE KENNEDYS.
AND HE TRULY HATED BOB KENNEDY.
I MEAN, HE REALLY HATED HIM.
McCullough:
"THE THING I FEARED FROM
THE FIRST DAY OF MY PRESIDENCY
"WAS ACTUALLY COMING TRUE.
"ROBERT KENNEDY HAD OPENLY
ANNOUNCED HIS INTENTION
TO RECLAIM THE THRONE
IN THE MEMORY OF HIS BROTHER."
Janeway:
ALWAYS PARANOIAC.
ALWAYS INSECURE.
HIS INSECURITY HAD GROWN
INTO A DISEASE, AND THE
THE INSECURITY WAS
ASSERTING ITSELF
IN PROCLAMATIONS AND ASSERTIONS.
WE SEEK NOT VICTORY OF CONQUES
BUT WE DO SEEK
THE TRIUMPH OF JUSTICE.
THE RIGHT
McCullough:
IN SPITE OF GROWING OPPOSITION
TO HIS WAR POLICIES,
WARNINGS FROM HIS
POLITICAL ADVISORS,
WITH OVER 20,000 AMERICANS DEAD,
JOHNSON REMAINED ADAMANT.
WE SEEK THAT RIGHT, AND WE WILL,
MAKE NO MISTAKE ABOUT IT, WIN.
(applause)
McCullough:
BY THE MIDDLE OF MARCH
CLARK CLIFFORD DESPAIRED OF EVER
CHANGING THE PRESIDENT'S MIND.
ONLY ONE GROUP OF AMERICANS
MIGHT BE ABLE TO INFLUENCE HIM:
THOSE FOREIGN POLICY EXPERTS
CALLED "THE WISE MEN."
FIVE MONTHS BEFORE
THE WISE MEN HAD CHEERED
JOHNSON WITH THEIR SUPPORT.
NOW CLIFFORD ENCOURAGED
THE PRESIDEN
TO MEET WITH THEM ONE MORE TIME.
ALTHOUGH IT MIGHT SOUND
SOMEWHAT CONSPIRATORIAL,
I THOUGHT IT WISE TO CONTAC
A GOOD MANY OF THEM FIRST.
SO I DID.
I KNEW THEM ALL, KNOWN
THEM ALL FOR YEARS.
AND I GOT A FEELING FROM THEM.
I MADE FOUR, FIVE
OR SIX CONTACTS
AND FOUND THAT IN EACH INSTANCE,
TET HAD CHANGED THEIR MIND.
THEY ALL CAME BACK;
WE WENT THROUGH THE SAME PROCESS
READING CABLES, GETTING BRIEFED.
AND WE MET WITH THE PRESIDENT.
THEY'D ALL TURNED AROUND.
THE IMPACT WAS PROFOUND,
SO PROFOUND THAT HE THOUGH
SOMETHING HAD GONE WRONG.
AND HE USED THE EXPRESSION
"I THINK SOMEBODY HAS
POISONED THE WELL."
Goodwin:
HE HAD PICKED
THESE OLD COLD WARRIORS
WHO WERE STILL FIGHTING
THE BATTLE OF CONTAINMEN
AND HE LISTENED TO THEIR ADVICE.
AND AS LONG AS
THEY STAYED WITH HIM
HE FELT THAT HE MUS
BE DOING THE RIGHT THING.
AND THEN, FINALLY, AT THE END,
THEY LEFT HIM.
THEY ALL SAID,
"IT'S NOT WORKING,"
AND THEY WALKED OUT OF THE ROOM
AND THERE WAS LYNDON JOHNSON,
ALL ALONE WITH HIS WAR,
THE LAST BELIEVER.
McCullough:
MARCH 31, 1968.
FIVE DAYS AFTER MEETING
WITH THE WISE MEN,
JOHNSON APPEARED UNUSUALLY CALM
AS HE REHEARSED HIS SPEECH
ON VIETNAM.
TO DISCUSS THE MEANS OF
BRINGING THIS WAR TO AN END.
NOW, LET'S HAVE WALT OUTLINE
THE THREE OR FOUR STEPS
WE WANT TO ASK
THESE FOLKS TO DO
Clifford:
A WEEK BEFORE HE WAS TO DELIVER
THAT SPEECH
HE CALLED AND SAID HE WANTED ME
TO SIT IN FROM THEN ON
WITH THOSE WHO WERE
PREPARING THE SPEECH.
BUT WHEN I GOT THERE, THE FIRS
LINE OF THE SPEECH WAS,
"MY FRIENDS, I WISH
TO SPEAK TO YOU TONIGH
ABOUT THE WAR IN VIETNAM."
GOSH, THIS IS HARD TO READ,
JIM, YOU HAVE NO IDEA.
IT'S JUST MARKED UP
EVERY WORD NEARLY, YOU SEE?
Clifford:
ON THE EVENING
OF SUNDAY, MARCH 31,
THE FIRST LINE WAS, "MY FRIENDS,
I WISH TO SPEAK TO YOU TONIGH
ABOUT PEACE IN VIETNAM."
GOOD EVENING,
MY FELLOW AMERICANS.
TONIGHT I WAN
TO SPEAK TO YOU
OF PEACE IN VIETNAM AND
SOUTHEAST ASIA.
McCullough:
AT FIRST THE SPEECH
SEEMED LIKE MANY OTHERS
ONE MORE PAUSE IN THE BOMBING,
ONE MORE GESTURE
TOWARD NEGOTIATION.
TONIGHT I HAVE ORDERED OUR
AIRCRAFT AND OUR NAVAL VESSELS
TO MAKE NO ATTACKS
ON NORTH VIETNAM
EXCEPT IN THE AREA NORTH
OF THE DEMILITARIZED ZONE
McPherson:
THE DAY BEFORE
HE MADE THE SPEECH
WE HAD AN ALL-DAY
MEETING, AND HE SAID,
"HAVE YOU SEEN THE LAS
PART OF THE SPEECH?"
AND I SAID, "NO, BUT I THINK
I KNOW WHAT'S IN IT."
AND HE SAID, "WHAT DO YOU
THINK ABOUT THAT?"
I SAID, "I'M VERY SORRY."
AND HE SAID HE SAID, "WELL,
OKAY, SO LONG, PARTNER."
HE HAD SAID ON MANY OCCASIONS
THAT HE MIGHT NOT RUN AGAIN.
AND I HAD ALWAYS INTERPRETED
THIS AS MEANING THAT HE WOULD.
WITH OUR HOPES AND
THE WORLD'S HOPES FOR PEACE
IN THE BALANCE EVERY DAY,
I DO NOT BELIEVE
THAT I SHOULD DEVOTE
AN HOUR OR A DAY OF MY TIME
TO ANY PERSONAL, PARTISAN CAUSE.
I REMEMBER BEING TORN,
LITERALLY 50-50,
HALF OF ME HOPING
HE WOULD DO IT
THAT IS, ANNOUNCE
HIS WITHDRAWAL
AND HALF OF ME HOPING
HE WOULDN'T DO IT.
AND WHEN HE GOT TO WHA
I KNEW WAS THE END,
I GOT UP AND SAID, "WELL, LET'S
TURN IT OFF AND TALK ABOUT IT."
AND I MOVED TOWARD THE SE
AND THEN CAME THE SAYONARA.
I SHALL NOT SEEK
AND I WILL NOT ACCEP
THE NOMINATION OF MY PARTY FOR
ANOTHER TERM AS YOUR PRESIDENT.
Connally:
I WAS SURPRISED.
I WAS SURPRISED.
BECAUSE I DIDN'T THINK
HE'D EVER REALLY DO IT.
HERE WAS A MAN WHOSE WHOLE LIFE
HAD BEEN POLITICS EVERYTHING
TO THE EXCLUSION OF
EVERYTHING ELSE, REALLY.
I COULDN'T BELIEVE IT.
IT WAS LIKE A
IT WAS LIKE A
A PERCUSSION GRENADE
GOING OFF IN THAT ROOM.
I WAS STUNNED.
I WAS OVERWHELMED
WITH EXHILARATION.
IT WAS AS IF SOMEONE HAD TOLD ME
I'D WON THE NOBEL PRIZE.
THERE WAS HOPE SUDDENLY.
IT JUST BROKE ME IN TWO
BECAUSE I KNEW WHA
IT MEANT TO HIM TO SAY I
AND I COULDN'T STAND IT.
AND THREE MEN AND I
WERE IN A CAR
AND WE ALL BEGAN
TO JUST OPENLY CRY
BECAUSE IT WAS TEARING
OUR HEART APAR
AND OF COURSE WE KNEW
WHAT IT MEANT TO HIM.
McCullough:
SURROUNDED BY HIS FAMILY,
LYNDON JOHNSON WITHDREW
AS A CANDIDATE FOR PRESIDEN
OF THE UNITED STATES.
THREE DAYS LATER,
HO CHI MINH RESPONDED:
NORTH VIETNAM WAS READY TO TALK.
BUT THE WAR WOULD GO ON
FOR ANOTHER SEVEN YEARS.
JOHNSON WOULD REMAIN IN
OFFICE TEN MORE MONTHS,
A LAME DUCK PRESIDENT,
HELPLESSLY WATCHING
AS THE COUNTRY DRIFTED
CLOSER TO ANARCHY
THAN AT ANY TIME
SINCE THE CIVIL WAR.
ON APRIL 4 HE LEARNED THA
MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.,
WAS SHOT AND KILLED.
TWO MONTHS LATER, ROBER
KENNEDY WAS ASSASSINATED.
IN AUGUST, POLICE BATTLED
ANTIWAR DEMONSTRATORS
AT THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL
CONVENTION IN CHICAGO.
AND THEN, IN NOVEMBER,
RICHARD NIXON,
THE REPUBLICAN WHO
SAID HE REPRESENTED
"THE FORGOTTEN AMERICANS,
THE NON-SHOUTERS,"
WAS ELECTED PRESIDENT.
"I SOMETIMES FELT,"
JOHNSON SAID,
"THAT I WAS LIVING
IN A CONTINUOUS NIGHTMARE."
Pickle:
YOU KNEW IT WAS THE END OF
THE ROAD FOR THAT PRESIDENCY.
AND ALL THE GOOD THINGS
THAT YOU HAD ENJOYED
THE CHALLENGES THA
YOU HAD HAD
AND THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO
SOMETHING
AND MAYBE YOU HAD DONE
SOMETHING FOR YOUR COUNTRY
FOR THOSE OF US WHO WERE
PART OF THE JOHNSON TEAM,
THAT BROKE OUR HEARTS.
Wilkins:
MY FEELINGS WERE SO
MIXED ABOUT THE MAN.
THERE WAS PART OF ME THA
NEVER STOPPED LOVING HIM
AND THERE WAS A PART OF ME
THAT HATED HIM.
SO I DIDN'T KNOW
HOW TO RESPOND.
AND IT WAS MAINLY
SADNESS, I GUESS.
Janeway:
ONLY HE, WITH ALL OF HIS
REMARKABLE GIFTS AND KNOWLEDGE,
COULD HAVE HAD
A REALISTIC APPRECIATION
OF THE EXTEN
OF HIS OPPORTUNITY
AND OF THE EXTENT OF BOTH
HIS ACHIEVEMENT AND HIS FAILURE.
Dallek:
THE LIBERAL IMPULSE THA
WENT BACK TO THE NEW DEAL
IS CHALLENGED, AND WHAT YOU GE
BEGINNING IN '68, I BELIEVE,
WITH RICHARD NIXON'S ELECTION,
IS AN ERA OF CONSERVATISM.
AND THE IRONY IS,
JOHNSON PRESIDES
OVER THE EXTRAORDINARY
ACHIEVEMENT OF LIBERALISM
REACHING ITS ZENITH,
REACHING ITS HEIGHTS,
AND THEN WITHIN THREE YEARS,
PLUNGES TO ITS DEPTHS
FROM WHICH IT STILL HASN'
RECOVERED IN THE YEAR 1990.
Malafronte:
WHAT HE WANTED WAS
PEOPLE TO LOVE HIM
AND WHAT HE WANTED TO DO
WAS TO SOLVE EVERYBODY'S
PROBLEMS HIMSELF.
FOR JOHNSON, HE HAD
NO OTHER VOCABULARY,
NO OTHER WAY OF THINKING ABOU
HOW TO HELP PEOPLE
OTHER TO HAVE INVOLVEMEN
OF GOVERNMENT IN A BIG WAY.
GIVE THEM A LOT OF MONEY,
PUT YOUR ARMS AROUND THEM AND
LOVE THEM.
HE WAS THE LAST SOLDIER
IN THE NEW DEAL WAR.
McCullough:
CONGRESSMAN, SENATOR,
VICE-PRESIDENT, PRESIDENT
WASHINGTON HAD BEEN HIS LIFE
FOR OVER 30 YEARS.
NOW HE WAS GOING HOME
TO THE TEXAS HILL COUNTRY
WHERE, AS HIS FATHER TOLD HIM,
"THE PEOPLE KNOW WHEN YOU'RE
SICK AND CARE WHEN YOU DIE."
Connally:
THE BASIC, SEDENTARY LIFE
THAT HE WAS RELEGATED TO
WAS NOT THE TYPE OF LIFE THA
HE ENJOYED OR HAD EVER KNOWN.
HIS LIFE HAD BEEN
ENORMOUSLY ACTIVE,
HAD BEEN CENTERED
AROUND POLITICS.
ALL OF A SUDDEN HE HAD
NOTHING TO BE ACTIVE ABOU
AND THE POLITICS WAS GONE.
Kearns Goodwin:
NOW HE WAS LEFT TO THIS RANCH,
BUT HE HAD TO HAVE STAFF
MEETINGS IN THE MORNING
OR ELSE HE WOULD
HAVE GONE CRAZY.
BUT THEY MIGH
HAVE ONLY BEEN
THREE OR FOUR MEXICAN
FIELD HANDS
AND HE WAS TELLING THEM WHICH
TRACTORS TO FIX
AND WHICH EGGS WERE GOING TO BE
LAID BY WHICH HENS ALMOST.
AND AT NIGHT HE LITERALLY
COULDN'T GO TO SLEEP
UNLESS HE HAD REPORTS
JUST AS HE HAD ALWAYS HAD
IN THE WHITE HOUSE,
BUT NOW IT WOULD BE HOW MANY
EGGS HAD BEEN LAID
BY THESE HENS.
IT WAS AS IF THE MONARCHY HAD
BEEN REDUCED TO THIS SMALL RANCH
BUT THE HABITS HAD
TO STAY THE SAME.
AND AS ALL OF
THAT SADNESS SET IN,
THEN THERE WAS A CERTAIN
FRENZY OF WONDERING
WOULD HISTORY REMEMBER HIM WELL?
AND THEN, I THINK, HIS WHOLE
MOOD BEGAN TO CHANGE.
Wickenden:
HE WAS EXTREMELY DEPRESSED
AND HE WOULDN'T TALK ABOU
ANYTHING IN THE LAST 25 YEARS.
HE WOULD TALK ABOU
THE EARLY DAYS.
HE WOULDN'T TALK ABOUT ANYTHING
IN THE SUBSEQUENT YEARS.
HE HAD THIS LONG WHITE HAIR,
AND IT WAS ALL CURLED
YOU KNOW, KIND OF CURLED
AT THE BACK OF HIS HAIR,
AND HE LOOKED LIKE A HIPPIE.
I THINK HE CHOSE
TO LOOK LIKE A HIPPIE
BECAUSE HE CONTAINED EVERYTHING.
HE LOOKED LIKE HE WAS
IDENTIFYING WITH THE KIDS
THAT HAD BEEN DEMONSTRATING
AGAINST THE WAR.
MAYBE HE WAS TRYING
TO SAY TO THEM,
"HEY, I UNDERSTAND.
IF I'D HAVE BEEN YOUNG, I MIGH
HAVE DONE THE SAME THING."
I THINK HE DRANK
HIMSELF TO DEATH
KNOWING THAT HE SHOULDN'T HAVE
DRUNK, SHOULDN'T HAVE SMOKED,
SHOULDN'T HAVE GOT OVERWEIGHT.
HE HAD THE HEART PROBLEM.
HE ALWAYS SAID THAT MEN IN THE
JOHNSON FAMILY DIDN'T LIVE LONG.
AND I THINK HE JUST ASKED FOR I
AND JUST WAITED
FOR IT TO HAPPEN.
(applause)
McCullough:
ON A COLD DAY
IN THE WINTER OF 1972
JOHNSON LEFT THE SECLUSION
OF HIS RANCH
AND TRAVELED TO AUSTIN
TO SPEAK ABOUT CIVIL RIGHTS
FOR THE LAST TIME.
Lady Bird Johnson:
HE GOT UP OUT OF HIS BED
FROM A BAD ANGINA ATTACK.
JUST PUT A POCKETFUL OF
THOSE NITROGLYCERIN PILLS IN.
NOW, LET ME MAKE IT PLAIN
THAT WHEN I SAY "BLACK"
AS I DO A GOOD MANY TIMES
IN THIS LITTLE STATEMENT
I ALSO MEAN BROWN
AND YELLOW AND RED
AND ALL OTHER PEOPLE
WHO SUFFER DISCRIMINATION.
McPherson:
HIS HEART WAS REALLY HURTING.
AND HE I REMEMBER SEEING HIM
POP A NITROGLYCERIN PILL.
WE KNOW HOW MUCH
STILL REMAINS TO BE DONE
AND IF OUR EFFORTS CONTINUE
AND IF OUR WILL IS STRONG
AND IF OUR HEARTS ARE RIGH
AND IF COURAGE REMAINS
OUR CONSTANT COMPANION
THEN, MY FELLOW AMERICANS, I AM
CONFIDENT WE SHALL OVERCOME.
(applause)
McCullough:
THIS WOULD BE THE LAST SPEECH
HE WOULD EVER GIVE.
WITHIN SIX WEEKS,
ON JANUARY 22, 1973,
LYNDON JOHNSON'S HEAR
STOPPED BEATING.
HE WAS 64 YEARS OLD.
FIVE DAYS LATER, THE VIETNAM WAR
ENDED FOR AMERICA
IN A PEACE TREATY
SIGNED IN PARIS.
HE WAS JUST INTERESTING AS HELL.
I MEAN, YOU KNOW,
COMPARED TO MOST PEOPLE
THAT KIND OF GO
THROUGH LIFE BANALLY
MAKING THEIR DREADFUL
MORAL POINTS OR
OR CONDEMNING THIS
OR HOPING FOR THAT OR
OR SCRATCHING
THE BACK OF THEIR HEAD,
LYNDON REALLY MOVED.
HE WAS MOVING ALL THE TIME.
THE FEW TIMES I WAS
WITH HIM, IT WAS
HE WAS JUST FUN TO BE AROUND.
AND YOU LIKED HIM,
YOU LIKED HIM.
I LIKED HIM WHEN I WAS WITH HIM
MORE THAN I DID WHEN
I WAS THINKING ABOUT HIM.
(laughing)
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