Lbj

"Hey, hey, LBJ, how many kids did you kill today?" For many baby boomers, this haunting refrain forms the basis of their opinion on Lyndon Baines Johnson, the 36th President of the United States. Five years in the making, David Grubin's extraordinary new political biography, which originally aired on The American Experience, will go a long way towards correcting that simple assessment. Divided into four hour-long segments, LBJ combines still photographs, historical film footage, and interviews with a wide range of professionals and acquaintances (Lady Bird Johnson, John Connally, biographers Robert Dallek and Ronnie Dugger, etc.) to create a fascinating portrait of an amazing politician. The first hour is spent chronicling Johnson's pre-White House years, his successful (and not-so-successful) runs in Texas politics, and his eventual rise to power in the Senate. Losing out on his bid for the presidency in 1960, Johnson accepted the vice-presidential post (though he intensely hated Bobby Kennedy--a hatred that was equally returned), and then was suddenly sworn in as the new leader, following the tragic assassination of JFK. Laboring under the stigma of being an "accidental" president, Johnson regained his confidence following his landslide victory over Goldwater in the 1964 election. It was his most cherished moment, and the beginning of Johnson's dream to implement his Great Society: an all-out attack on poverty, poor education, racism, and an inadequate health system, among other things. Unfortunately, Johnson had inherited the seed of his own destruction: an escalating conflict in a small country on the other side of the world called Vietnam. A consummate politician, LBJ cajoled, wheedled, and coerced more legislation into law than any previous president, and gave us the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the Head Start program, automobile safety legislation, Medicare, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and even beaucoup bucks for public libraries. While most definitely not a sparkling humanitarian, LBJ nevertheless got the job done...except for Vietnam. The final hour, "The Last Believer," is a wrenching look at LBJ's fall. Believing that he could bargain with Ho Chi Minh over Vietnam, Johnson neither committed big-time to the war, nor would he withdraw. In 1967, he called in the "wise men," a think-tank group comprised of the best foreign policy advisors in the land. They all supported him, yet five months later, when it was too late to turn back, they unanimously changed their opinion. LBJ never really understood the war, nor the opposition to the war--but he did understand that the Vietnam War spelled his demise. A haggard, physically and spiritually broken man, declined to seek re-election in 1968, and retired to his ranch where he would live the last four years of his life. The definitive video biography, LBJ is a riveting film about a complex man living in complex times--it praises and condemns, yet ultimately, one is left believing the words of one of the interviewees that Johnson was "the last soldier in the New Deal war." Highly recommended. Editor's Choice. (Available from: PBS Video, 1320 Braddock Place, Alexandria, VA 22314-1698; 1-800-424-7963.)