06-11-2015, 04:47 AM
True. Some claims about LBJ's supposed greatness (like Reiner's) are
fantasies. Some (like Welles's) are partly due to the phenomenon
of the single-issue voter. We see this all the time. People who like
one aspect of a politician's record, because it's important to them,
turn blind eyes to everything else. Yes, those acts of Congress were historic, and
the roles of JFK and Dr. King were crucial, even though Johnson gets most of the credit. Still, he
did a lot to push them through Congress at a time when
segregationists still had a lot of power in both houses. Taking away that credit from LBJ is also a distortion of the record. But focusing on
the domestic policies and ignoring Vietnam is stupefying. Particularly since Vietnam
had such a damaging effect on the domestic policies. People can be very myopic. It
is like Democrats today who don't want to hear about drone killings but just
talk about the Affordable Care Act when they praise Obama.
fantasies. Some (like Welles's) are partly due to the phenomenon
of the single-issue voter. We see this all the time. People who like
one aspect of a politician's record, because it's important to them,
turn blind eyes to everything else. Yes, those acts of Congress were historic, and
the roles of JFK and Dr. King were crucial, even though Johnson gets most of the credit. Still, he
did a lot to push them through Congress at a time when
segregationists still had a lot of power in both houses. Taking away that credit from LBJ is also a distortion of the record. But focusing on
the domestic policies and ignoring Vietnam is stupefying. Particularly since Vietnam
had such a damaging effect on the domestic policies. People can be very myopic. It
is like Democrats today who don't want to hear about drone killings but just
talk about the Affordable Care Act when they praise Obama.