Proponent of the Vietnam War

"A President's hardest task is not to do what is right, but to know what is right."-Johnson

Lyndon B. Johnson was elected as the United States President for the term November 22, 1963 at the assasination of President Kennedy. After Kennedy's death the problem of deciding how to proceed in Vietnam fell onto the shoulders of Johnson. Faced with the crisis of Diem's government being overthrown in 1963, Johnson's administration made the decision to increase the USA's participation in the war.

An excerpt from a meeting on July 21st 1965:

"Ball: We cannont win, Mr. President. This war will be long and protracted. The most we can hope for is a messy concludion. There remains a great danger of intrusion by the Chinese. But the biggest problem is the strike at the  very jugular of Northvietnam will become very great. I am concerned about world opinion... IF th ewar is long and protracted, I believe it will be, then we will suffer because the world's greatest power cannot defeat guerillas

Johnson: But George, wouldn't all these countries say that Uncle Sam was a paper tiger, wouldn't we lose credibility breaking the word of three presidents?" (Williams)

In the election of 1964 President Johnson was relelected after defeating Goldwater. Ironically during re-election Johnson's slogan was geared toward the de-escalation of the war.

For more insight into the feelings of President Johnson toward the Vietnam in 1964 go to this audio where "Johnson speaks with Stone about a variety of issues, including policy in Panama and Vietnam"

site:

"The test before us as a people is not whether our commitments match our will and our courage; but whether we have the will and courage to match our commitments."- Johnson

Interesting Links for Lyndon B. Johnson: