Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream

Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream – by Doris Kearns Goodwin

Doris Kearns Goodwin is fast becoming one of my favorite historical authors.  One of the things that I find appealing about her works is that she doesn’t go the strict biography route when writing about one of her subjects, yet rather focuses on key idiosyncrasies or nuances about an individual, and how such characteristics shaped their overall destiny.  When she wrote about Abraham Lincoln, she focused on his diverse cabinet and how Lincoln was able to play to everyone’s strengths and weaknesses and uniting his team for a common cause.  When she wrote about Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, her aim was to show how different, and sometimes incompatible they were, yet use their talents and gifts to unite and redefine a country.

Her approach with this book is basically the same.  It might seem a bit bizarre that she would choose Johnson as a subject matter, but we must remember that this was her first book, and she actually worked for Johnson for a few years after his presidency.  It was this experience that probably got the author’s creative juices flowing and made her realize she was more than capable to tackle such an endeavor.

Her focus isn’t so much on the history of the man, but rather the man’s personality and what he had hoped to achieve.  We read about how his brash tactics and cunning nature allowed him to ascend in the world of politics was also responsible for his ultimate demise once he had finally made it to the very top.  History has shown us that Vietnam was Johnson’s ultimate failure, but Goodwin shows us that it really isn’t quite as black and white as that.  We are allowed to delve into the man’s psyche and see what his motivations were, and how things might have turned out a bit different had LBJ played his cards a bit differently.

If you’re looking for a biography of the man, this really isn’t the book for you.  Instead, I would recommend Robert Caro’s outstanding tetralogy (there’s at least one more book to be written).  I had to force myself to stop making comparisons.  After learning so much from Robert Caro, there were times that I felt Doris Kearns Goodwin was skipping too many things and zooming too fast through Johnson’s life.  I haven’t done a page by page comparison, but by the time Goodwin was describing Lyndon Johnson’s first run for congress, Caro was still describing Johnson’s grandfather’s earlobes.  Whereas Robert Caro spend almost an entire book devoted to the congressional races where Johnson infamously opposed Pappy O’Daniel and Coke Stevonson, Goodwin devotes merely half a page to each.

Again, though, this isn’t to be classified as a biography in the strict sense of the word.  No, once LBJ makes it as president is where this book kicks into high gear.  This is where we see things start to slowly unravel.  LBJ’s pet project, “The Great Society” is what gives the president the energy and excitement that drives him.  Although he makes some great strides, putting legislation as enormous as this in a position to succeed isn’t as simple as signing a few bills and making a few speeches.  There are too many other factors to be considered, and based on Johnson’s background, he really didn’t have the knowledge nor the patience to paint by the numbers.

The main drawback, again, is Vietnam.  But Vietnam really isn’t a main player in this book either.  We learn an awful lot about Johnson’s cautious nature when the conflict begins, and hindsight shows us that perhaps many leaders (even John Kennedy) may have inadvertently got us involved in this muck just as deeply as Johnson did.  We learn he’s smart enough to not want to make the same mistakes as Neville Chamberlain did a quarter of a century prior (being extremely pacifistic), nor does he want to “drop the big one” since that might bring in China and Russia and start World War III.   In many ways, Johnson sees this conflict in Southeast Asia as a basic nuisance to his Great Society.

Because of all this turmoil, he’s forced to deal, face to face, with the American press and the American people.  Something, again, that he’s not used to, nor is he very good.  This sort of interaction is a far cry from the smoke filled Senate cloakroom where backs are slapped, deals are made and favors are swapped.  It truly is a tragic downfall.   After his presidency, the author includes (published?) writings from LBJ where he fiercely tries to defend himself and explaining his actions during his presidency.  He sadly comes across as misdirected, misinformed, and just out of touch.  It really his sad.

It most also be said that this is not a “warts and all” book either.  Although the author does show pros and cons of the man, she doesn’t go too far in either direction.  There were SO MANY things about this man to love and hate him for, yet we’re steered away from the majority of those instances.  Instead Goodwin stays focused on her primary topic- “The American Dream”, specifically what this was for LBJ and how he ultimately failed in achieving it.