re: #261 HappyWarrior

He was a man not a saint and I think that’s the problem that some of the left have with him. They can’t put him on the same mantle as FDR or JFK, I really do think LBJ is under-appreciated by people from both sides. I mean the Vietnam issue has to be discussed but his vision domestically deserves credit even if he was a bit of a dick.

LBJ, like Nixon, was the kinda politician who was not above stepping on toes to get things done. That was largely the reason why he was put on the ticket with JFK, because he was the elder statesman with an accomplished record to serve as the contrast to the young up-and-comer who was at the top of the ticket. If not for the televised debate, it might very well have been Nixon who was elected president in 1960.