San Antonio, TX
As mentioned previously, I am struggling to figure out LBJ. I have learned enough at his Presidential Library, reconstructed birthplace, schoolhouse, childhood home and ranch to have a thin base on which to begin to construct an opinion.
I think that better than three-quarters of the things LBJ did and the measures he pushed were absolutely execrable. There can be no defense – under our Constitution – for things like the National Endowments for the Arts and Humanities, the Education Acts, or the wildly lame-brained abominations called the “War on Poverty” and the “Great Society.” Taken as a whole Johnson did more damage to the American State than any President since Franklin Roosevelt.
However, Johnson did some things that were truly noble and long overdue. He was the primary cheerleader for the United States space program from his time in Congress all the way through his Presidency. His dedication in passing the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts finally completed the Federal victory in the Civil War which was so abysmally wasted during the Reconstruction era.
Sadly the bad far outweighs the good. And my dislike for Johnson the President remains unbounded. In my learning, though, I think I’ve come to the conclusion that I wouldn’t vote for the guy but I think he’d be all-right to sit down and share a beer with.
And I am damned sorry I didn’t go out to the ranch while Lady Bird was still alive to see her sitting on the porch waving at tourists or boarding the bus for a personal tour. She seems like fun.