LBJ at 1960 Dem Convention Now on C-Span2!!!!

[WillyBrandt]

Cool stuff!

[Kanary]

1. Thanks! This takes me back.........

old and creaky dem......

[WillyBrandt]

2. I just read Caro's 3 books on him--this is fascinating....

[Kanary]

3. "Those who talk too much and studied too little....."

How the heck did he know we were gonna have dumbya 40 years later....???

:hi:

[tritsofme]

4. You couldn't pay me to watch that scumbag talk

When he was speaking in 1960, 50,000 boys were still alive that would spill their blood for his damn pettiness for his damn war in that God-forsaken jungle. They probably weren't more than 10 or 11 years old.

I put him right up there with the current pResident.

[WillyBrandt]

6. The only white man who did more for blacks than LBJ was Lincoln

If it weren't for him, who could imagine the pits of racism--however much we suffer today from it still--we'd be in.

[tritsofme]

10. Sending them to die in an illegal war didn't do much for blacks or

anyone for that matter.

I don't know how old some of you folks are, but I lost a cousin and some close friends to that useless war, and I will never forgive LBJ for that.

[WillyBrandt]

11. LBJ sent men to die needlessly, and freed millions from racism and poverty

He did both these things.

[JI7]

12. and because of his support for social and economic justice

they were strengthened to protest the war and not put up with things they saw as wrong.

and a lot of black people had relatives killed unjustly in the united states for YEARS without any justice. it was just a part of life here. there was a fucking war at home also. it's not as if things were ok here or not so bad. lbj helped do something about it.

[WillyBrandt]

13. He did both great wrong and great good. You can't ignore one for the other

[JI7]

8. an entire group of people were treated as less than human in 1960

and before that. they were being terorrized and killed without justice. lbj helped try to put an end to that and make things more just for all people.

as for vietnam i know it's easier to blame just one person than to try to see things in the context of the times with the cold war and communism being the big enemy and support from many for doing something about it. no question lbj is tainted by that war but he isn't the only one at fault. and he had a conscience which allowed him to see when things were going wrong and he was filled with guilt and hurt. it contributed to his death also.

[Kanary]

14. tritsofme, you are so right!

LBJ made a mess of this country with that damned war, and tore families apart -- not only by death, but also by the same sort of divided country we have now.

You put it very powerfully..... those young boys whose lives would be cut short so tragically.

I'm completely with you! I was in so many marches, and rallies, and teachins, and reading every underground newspaper I could get my hands on. WE were all so very angry, and outraged, so I fully understand your anger. It is a righteous anger.

I still have a hard time figuring out how he could have approved such carnage.

I remember being at a large rally, hearing one more speaker denounce Johnson, with us all cheering him on. A man next to me quietly said, "One day, we'll wish we had Johnson back." I was aghast. How could anyone with a brain say that, when we were doing everything we could to end the war, and get Johnson out of office.

All it took for me was for Raygun to get in office, and the deaths of thousands more people ---these deaths being silent and unmarked -- who were cut from poverty programs. Most of those programs were the very programs instituted by Johnson. Those programs had saved countless lives, and improved the lives of many more. Now, people were dying by the thousands. Mostly, they were suicides, which is also a very hard way to die.

I truly do not know the answer......... I so wish we could have a leader who embraced it all, and improved every single aspect of ths country. Although I also fear that if we had four years of that, we would once again become complacent, and let it all slip away.

You see, I'm one of those who is not all warm and fuzzy about Kerry, and trying to deal with a lot of disappointment. First of all because, just as with Johnson, I don't trust that he's going to end this damned war, and save lives of boys and girls now listening to his speech on Thursday. Also, I am pretty sure we can expect more cuts to the safety net, resulting in yet more deaths -- agin, the silent deaths. I may be one of them. Yet, look how many people are happy tonight with the prospect of this presidency.

I share your anger. I fully understand your rage. I wish to hell I had some answers.

Kanary

[elperromagico]

5. LBJ was a capable speaker.

Not a JFK, not a Clinton, not an FDR. But a good speaker.

[Kanary]

7. John Kennedy on now......... oh maaaan, sure wish I had known...... would

have been prepared for recording......

This is almost too much .......

Kanary

[elperromagico]

9. They're showing a variety of convention acceptance speeches

on the twin C-Span networks all this week. You may get a chance to record JFK's acceptance speech.