MovieChat Forums > The Sixties (2013) Discussion > Was LBJ a stronger president than JFK?

Was LBJ a stronger president than JFK?

posted 8 years ago by rzaxlash
3 replies | jump to latest

First off, this miniseries is fantastic. Every episode has been very interesting and at times riveting. One thing stands out to me and that school never taught me. Just how complex, conflicted and ultimately accomplished LBJ's presidency was. It seems like he took a hard stance on civil rights and was the first president to really get things done, whereas Kennedy was afraid to ruffle feathers and maybe even manipulated the black votes without a resounding followup in his presidency. The deal he struck to jail the Freedom Riders was pretty sickening. As for Vietnam, it seemed like a lose lose situation for LBJ, who inherited a mess and listened to his advisers and military guys, as most presidents would have. I'm not a political guy, these were just my impressions.

[–] Cristianos 8 years ago

President Johnson was definitely a stronger legislator than Kennedy thanks to his legislative skills from his long career in Congress. While Kennedy passed some notable legislation, most of his legislation including a reduction to a 70% marginal tax rate (essentially tax cuts) and for civil rights stalled in Congress during his last year. Due to the sentiments following Kennedy's assassination, Johnson now had capital to use his death to pass his legislation as part of his memory and enacted more legislation following his second inauguration.

Vietnam was a no-win situation. I'm not sure how Kennedy would have differently handled the escalation if he lived, but I know he didn't want to be seen as weak on communism and lose Vietnam like Truman lost China to communism. I still think Kennedy was better in public speaking and had far more memorable speeches.

What we do in life, echoes in eternity.

[–] I_Guard_Tanelorn 8 years ago

I learned more in this miniseries than I ever did in school. For the first time ever I finally have have a strong sense of the 60s.

Everything about LBJ in particular was new to me.

"I said no camels, that's five camels, can't you count?"

[–] tj1182 7 years ago

Please do more research. This is from CNN, not exactly known for factual information.