The Passage of Power

The Passage of Power by Robert Caro

At the conclusion of this piece, Robert Caro’s 4th installment of the life of Lyndon Baines Johnson, I’ve never felt more disappointed.  Not disappointed in the book.  No, the book was wonderful.  I was disappointed that I’d probably have to wait about a decade for volume 5.  Just in case you’re unfamiliar with this series, Robert Caro, back in the 1970’s, decided to write a 2 volume synopsis on the history of the 36th president of the United States.  Well, the 2 volumes turned into 3...and then into 4....and now faithful readers are hoping that the yet to be written volume 5 will be the last.  It’s not the amount of material that makes the reader despondent, but the fact that it usually takes the author 8-10 years to write these full, enriching volumes.  As someone that didn’t start to read the series until about  six months ago, the waiting, I’m afraid, will seem like an eternity.

Well, good things come to those who wait, and Caro continues to give us great things every time he releases one of these works of Southwest Texas State’s most prominent graduate.  This book covers the time period spanning from the 1960 presidential race (which Johnson lost, yet was named as Kennedy’s Vice President) through the weeks immediately following Kennedy’s brutal assassination.

As Master of the Senate (Volume 3 of this series) clearly shows, from 1952 through 1960, Johnson clearly was a Master and was arguably the most powerful and influential senator in our nation’s history.  Always dreaming of one day being the president, it’s no secret that 1960 will serve as the prime time for LBJ to make such a move.  The problem is, LBJ waited too long early in the primaries to really make his entrance.  He figured he wouldn’t need any momentum until the Democratic Convention.  It’s a bit easy to see how he could make a mistake in hindsight.  Presidential primaries were different back then, and unlike today, the presidential candidate and his running mate weren’t usually decided until the convention was actually in full swing.  Johnson also overlooked the young senator from Massachusetts, whom most people knew in name only.

While reading the third volume, I was surprised how rarely the author even mentioned John F. Kennedy.  The hard truth, however, was that JFK didn’t really do that much as a U.S. senator to make his mark on the nation.  It didn’t help that the man was actually very sick with back problems and was in an out of the hospital so much.  So no one really took him that seriously when he threw his name in the hat.  Especially since he was so young and (gulp) a Roman Catholic.  Well, the country soon fell in love with Joseph Kennedy’s second son who happened to be incredibly charismatic, dashingly handsome, could woo crowds with his inflection of humor in his campaign speeches, had a gorgeous wife, and also had  a ton of money.

Kennedy was also smart enough to realize he needed a man like LBJ as his VP if he would carry the ticket.  Contrary to popular belief, the two men got along wonderfully and had tremendous respect for one and other, and LBJ figured that if he really did one day want to become president, being in an inconsequential job such as Vice President might be unbearable, but it was a calculated move that probably would increase his chances of one day reaching his ultimate goal.  So he somewhat reluctantly accepted the number two spot on the ticket.  Now, Kennedy’s little brother Bobby hated  Lyndon Johnson, and history shows us the feeling was mutual.  So once Kennedy’s presidential term started, it was the lowest of the low in the life of Johnson.  He was too much of a mover and a shaker to sit still in a do-nothing type of job such as a Vice President, so he was constantly trying to expand his role and responsibilities, and Kennedy had to keep him on somewhat of a short leash which was undoubtably hard for all involved.

Then, Kennedy’s “Camelot” of younger, Harvard grad, money types were now everywhere in and around Washington and the White House, and this just wasn’t the best atmosphere for an old Texas Cowpoke such as Johnson.  So the man was ridiculed constantly by those in power.  As I’ve said in my review of the previous volume, Johnson was no saint, and Caro does a brilliant job of portraying the real man - warts and all.  Still, you really can’t help feel sorry for Lyndon Johnson as we look at this time of his life.

Then, of course, Dallas happened.

Although the events on, and around, November 22nd, 1963 are well documented elsewhere, this book is the only instance where we get an in depth perspective of what Johnson was going through during the turmoil of these few days.  Of all the images that play through one’s mind of this  historical catastrophe, the only one that comes to mind containing LBJ is the swearing in on Air Force One - face solemnly dejected, standing next to the blood-stained recent widowed Jackie Kennedy.  So in a sense, the pages around this event don’t seem redundant.  In fact, it’s almost refreshing (if I dare use such a word) to read about these events where this a new focus.

Yes, there are those (and there were then, too) that wondered if there was a sinister plot behind the assassination, and many fingers were pointed at this new “accidental” president.  The author alludes to this, yet I believe he’s sincere when he says Johnson wasn’t involved and, truth be told, there really wasn’t anything Johnson did in the days and weeks after this event that would suggest such an ominous plan.

In fact, this is where the story really gets interesting, and although LBJ’s presidency would later become stained due to Viet Nam, he really does rise to the occasion in the immediate aftermath of the assassination, and manages to hold the country together while moving forward.  A large part of the latter half  of this volume deals with a very short time - the few weeks following the tragedy.

Although a lot of printed pages cover this brief period, you never feel as though it’s much ado about nothing.  Johnson had a huge task to undertake.  To his credit, he never throws the Kennedy agenda away (as Oliver Stone would have you believe), and he makes it plain to the American people that since it was John F. Kennedy that they elected, it would be John F. Kennedy’s visions and dreams that LBJ would push forward.  He convinces the vast majority of the Kennedy cabinet and group of advisors, that basically laughed at the lanky Texan behind his back for the last few years, to stay on and help achieve the goals set out by their recently deceased boss.  To his credit, he does so admirably and wins over the majority of these former adversaries.

In fact, you can argue that Johnson did a better job pushing forward Kennedy’s agenda then Kennedy himself did.  As charismatic as JFK was, there were still those stubborn Halls of Congress to be dealt with, and although that’s never easy for any President, this was Johnson’s forte.  So Johnson does what arguably very few could have done, and that was help the country move on, as best it could, after one of the most popular presidents in history was brutally slain and gone from everyone’s site in a matter of minutes.

This volume, although a few hundred pages shorter than the previous, felt as though it went by entirely too fast.  I enjoyed this, and the other three immensely and I will have a hard time waiting for the next one.  If it does take the author eight to ten years, I’ll probably pick these four books up and read them again as a refresher before a read the fifth one for the first time.  A pretty arduous task, but well worth it.  Highly recommended.