is a perversion of the american way of life. >> my fellow americans, i am about to sign into law a civil rights act of 1964. >> only a southern president could have shepherd that bill, only the former master of the senate could shepherd that bill. >> i think it would have been easier for southerners to oppose a civil rights bill introduced by a northern liberal. >> the civil rights act is the big one, because kennedy had pursued it and not been able to break through that southern wall. johnson had a tremendous historical accomplishment and one that sets him apart as an effective president in his own right. >> what's the sense of being a political leader from the south and having political power if you don't use it? >> it's probably the most