LBJ Throws in the Towel
Forty two years ago today, on March 31, 1968, President Lyndon Johnson announced that he would not run for re-election.
Johnson was not prohibited from running for a second full term. He could have under the provisions of the 22nd Amendment because he had served less than 24 months of President Kennedy's term. Initially it looked like he was going to run for another term because early on in the 1968 election campaign no prominent Democratic candidate was prepared to run against a sitting president of the Democratic party. Senator Eugene McCarthy of Minnesota challenged Johnson as an anti-war candidate in the New Hampshire primary, hoping to pressure the Democrats to oppose the war. On March 12, McCarthy won 42% of the primary vote to Johnson's 49%, an amazingly strong showing for such a challenger. On March 16, just four days later, Senator Robert F. Kennedy of New York entered the race.
The Democratic Party, which was splitting into four factions, with no coalition likely.The first faction consisted of labor unions and local party bosses led by Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley. It supported Johnson. The second consisted of anti-war students and intellectuals who supported McCarthy. The third group were Catholics, Hispanics and African Americans, who supported RFK. The fourth was white Southerners who threw their support behind George C. Wallace and the American Independent Party.
Vietnam was one of many issues that splintered the party, and Johnson could see no way to win Vietnam and no way to unite the party long enough for him to win re-election. It was at the end of a March 31 speech, he shocked the nation to announce that he would not run for re-election. Johnson said "I shall not seek, nor will I accept the nomination of my party for another term as your President." (See 4:56 of video below).
Here's a YouTube video of Johnson's speech:
It's interesting to look at that video and see how common it was in those days for politicians to ask for God's help, or to ask Americans to pray for them. It's quite in contrast to modern times, when President Obama included athiests in his inaugural address.
Johnson died on January 22, 1973, two days after his term would have ended if he had been elected to another term.
Johnson was not prohibited from running for a second full term. He could have under the provisions of the 22nd Amendment because he had served less than 24 months of President Kennedy's term. Initially it looked like he was going to run for another term because early on in the 1968 election campaign no prominent Democratic candidate was prepared to run against a sitting president of the Democratic party. Senator Eugene McCarthy of Minnesota challenged Johnson as an anti-war candidate in the New Hampshire primary, hoping to pressure the Democrats to oppose the war. On March 12, McCarthy won 42% of the primary vote to Johnson's 49%, an amazingly strong showing for such a challenger. On March 16, just four days later, Senator Robert F. Kennedy of New York entered the race.
The Democratic Party, which was splitting into four factions, with no coalition likely.The first faction consisted of labor unions and local party bosses led by Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley. It supported Johnson. The second consisted of anti-war students and intellectuals who supported McCarthy. The third group were Catholics, Hispanics and African Americans, who supported RFK. The fourth was white Southerners who threw their support behind George C. Wallace and the American Independent Party.
Vietnam was one of many issues that splintered the party, and Johnson could see no way to win Vietnam and no way to unite the party long enough for him to win re-election. It was at the end of a March 31 speech, he shocked the nation to announce that he would not run for re-election. Johnson said "I shall not seek, nor will I accept the nomination of my party for another term as your President." (See 4:56 of video below).
Here's a YouTube video of Johnson's speech:
It's interesting to look at that video and see how common it was in those days for politicians to ask for God's help, or to ask Americans to pray for them. It's quite in contrast to modern times, when President Obama included athiests in his inaugural address.
Johnson died on January 22, 1973, two days after his term would have ended if he had been elected to another term.