re: #100 lawhawk

Also, being a bit of an asshole, and pretending that he lost control of a car going into a lake. Only to show it was an Amphibious Car.

LBJ was a proud owner of an Amphicar, a rare German vehicle that looked almost indistinguishable from a normal car, but could double as a serviceable boat. Roughly 0.02 seconds after acquiring it, Johnson developed a favorite pastime: He’d invite friends and acquaintances to his Texas ranch and take them on an Amphicar joyride. Only he’d deliberately neglect to mention the amphibious capabilities of his vehicle, opting instead to pretend that he’d lost control of the car and, faking utter terror, steer them at some speed into a nearby lake. Sources don’t explicitly state that he rigged the car’s PA system to blast rock anthems and the Wilhelm Scream as this happened, nor do they confirm that he ramped several flaming buses before driving his unsuspecting guests to their apparent deaths, but I think we can safely agree that these things are implied.

Imagine this from the victim’s point of view: You have received the utmost honor of witnessing a U.S. president in its natural habitat. You expect your visit to be fruitful and full of important, future-defining discussion … right after you get this stupid joyride out of the way. And then, the horrified LBJ suddenly loses control of the car and exclaims: “The brakes don’t work! We’re going in! We’re going under!” Cue a rush of landscape, an approaching body of water, the sound of your panicked screaming, and a splash. Congratulations! You have now pooped your pants in the presence of the president, who is laughing his ass off and may or may not be waving his dick at you in celebration.

In LBJ’s defense, what he did was pretty much what each and every one of us would do, given access to an amphibious vehicle. However, the fact that he did this repeatedly to everyone, from the members of his own cabinet to foreign dignitaries, while being the president in an extremely turbulent political time, puts his pranking head and shoulders above the rest, if only because literally everyone else would probably be arrested if they attempted a stunt like that.

How did the Secret Service handle LBJ?